


Rumour Has It

by CSM



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, Mystery, Romance, UST to RST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 13:02:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 109,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3448142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSM/pseuds/CSM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen may be Starling City's star quarterback and resident playboy, but he has another thing coming if he thinks she will be another one of his floozies that worships the ground he walks on. This is a business arrangement, and if he thinks for second he's going to mess up her reputation, then he really doesn't know what Felicity Smoak is capable of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The sound of the glass door sliding open; alerts to Oliver the fact that he is no longer alone. He slips his sunglasses over his eyes, laying still on the lounging chair, hoping whoever is at the door will think he’s asleep and leave him alone.

The sound of feet shuffling gets louder as the person approaches Oliver’s prone form and Oliver growls when the lounge chair almost completely tips forward when the person sits at the edge of it. The person then laughs, a telltale sign that stunt was done just to wake Oliver up, incase he was actually sleeping. The person then slaps Oliver at the back of the head; almost making sure Oliver is indeed awake for good measure.

“Get up.”

“Fuck, dude. Don’t you know how to call like a normal person?” Oliver grumbles. He slips his shades onto his head to look up at Tommy Merlyn, who is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt glaring down at him, “Why are you even here so early on a Saturday morning?”

“It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon.” Tommy says exasperated as he moves over to the bar and begins to fix a drink.

When the blender roars to life, Oliver groans taking the towel hanging off the other chair and throwing it over his head, the pounding behind his eyes increasing tenfold, “Stop.”

“You’re _still_ hungover?” Tommy asks in exasperated. He pulls out another tall glass and begins mixing another drink, “I thought the skank I ran into, trying to sneak out of your apartment five minutes ago was just a midday booty call?”

“Hey!” Oliver says sitting up and pointing an unsteady finger at Tommy. He squints at his best friend, frowning when his retinas don’t seem to cooperate with the glaring sunlight shinning down on him and he slips his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “Carrie isn’t a skank.”

“Annie.” Tommy says deadpan. He comes over to the other lounging chair thrusting a glass filled with green shit at Oliver’s face, “Drink. You’re lucky this one seems to have no clue who you were, she seems to think your name is _Ramon_?”

Oliver shrugs as he takes a sip of his drink, gagging as the awful smell hits is nostrils, “She didn’t know who I was when I asked. She seems to have a thing for Spanish guys.”

“You don’t even speak Spanish.” Tommy points out in exasperation. He takes a sip of his smoothie, one that looks much more interesting that the crap Oliver is currently trying to choke back, “My point is, her not knowing who you are - she does seem to be as stupid as she looks –is good, so we don’t have to worry about this one running to the press and saying you took advantage of her or something.”

“Wow, no Carrie was very much pleased after a night with me. I have the scratch marks on my back to prove it. If anything _she_ was taking advantage of _me_.” Oliver says smugly. He winces when he downs the last of his drink, “That thing taste like ass.”

“Annie.” Tommy reminds him, but then rolls his eyes, “You look like ass. Go shower. I want to talk to you about something.”

“I need to be clean so that you can discuss this with me?” Oliver asks incredulously. He stretches out on the lounging chair, the towel that was snug over his waist slipping off to show that he’s bared ass on the chair.

“Dude!” Tommy says disgusted, picking up the towel and throwing it onto Oliver’s lap, “Put some clothes on. Shit, what if I brought Katie with me?”

Oliver freezes at the other man’s words, he raises his sunglasses to glare at Tommy, his voice like ice, “She’s in fucking Miami. You _know_ that. What the fuck do you want Tommy? Incase you didn’t notice I am busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Tommy asks incredulously, “Fucking every Tom, Dick and Harry?”

Oliver looks at him confused, “I only sleep with women.”

Tommy rolls his eyes knowing that being hungover always left Oliver a bit slow on the uptake, “It’s a figure of speech genius. Oliver, what _are_ you doing?”

Oliver grunts, not ready to have this conversation yet again. He slips off the lounging chair ignoring as the towel slips from his torso and Tommy’s protest of disgust as he slips into the pool easily. He surface at the center of the pool, standing in the middle of it as he wipes the water out of his eyes, “I’m swimming, seeing as you fired my physiotherapist I have to do this on my own. My shoulder isn’t going to heal itself. So, either you tell me whatever it is that is so important that you had to come here on a Saturday afternoon, or you can see yourself out.”

“I didn’t _fire_ your physiotherapist. You fucked your _married_ physiotherapist and I had to pay her husband a fucking huge sum of money to not kick your ass or worse turn it into a big scandal.” Tommy points out his voice hardening.

“Marriage is overrated.” Oliver remarks slightly aloof, “A piece of paper doesn’t mean shit to people. If she really loved her husband as much as she claimed she would have never spread her legs for me now would she?”

Tommy opens his mouth about to respond but decides to not push it knowing Oliver would only clamp up more if he starts trying to get him to talk, “There has been talk.”

“About me?” Oliver asks only mildly concerned as he starts to do laps along the length of the pool. He is able to do two lengths of the pool, before he has to stop and winces in pain as he starts to move around his injured shoulder, the scar, that is just about three inches in length from his collarbone to the tip of his shoulder, shines in the bright sun.

“Have you been working on that like your coach has been telling you?” Tommy asks, watching as Oliver submerges in the water and starts circling his arm slowly in the water.

“I’m doing it now aren’t I?” Oliver snaps back. He then sighs and gestures to his shorts that are thrown half-haphazardly between the two lounging chairs, “Throw my pants would you?”

He catches the pants with ease with his uninjured shoulder and quickly slips it on before he swims to the stepladder at the side of the pool. He tries to pull himself up with both arms, but hisses in pain and falls back into the water with a splash. Tommy rushes to his side but he holds up his good arm, “I’m fine.”

He then grabs the handles yet again, with his good arm and pulls his entire body out of the water. He rubs his shoulder yet again before grabbing a nearby towel to dry off. When a small green piece of fabric falls to floor he smirks holding it up to show Tommy that is a bikini top. “Souvenir.”

Despite the leer in his tone, his expression lacks the smugness it usually does. He throws the piece of fabric to the side forgetting about it as he takes a seat on the lounging chair, still rubbing his shoulder. He silently sends Tommy a look of gratitude when the other man hands him an icepack, “You’ll call that Diggle dude again? The new physiotherapist?”

“And you’ll stop calling him a Sargent and _actually_ listen to him?” Tommy asks as he pulls out his iPhone.

Oliver sighs, “Text me his number and I’ll call him and apologize. The dudes a hardass, but if I’m to be ready for the next season I _need_ to get my shoulder back in shape.”

Tommy nods, not bothering to question the sudden change in attitude, as Oliver looks at him curiously, “What?”

“The reason you’re here?” Oliver asks. He then chuckles, “And you say _I’m_ the one with a memory that can rival Dory.”

Tommy groans at the mention of the animated fish, “Oh don’t even mention that fish’s name. It’s Jamie’s latest obsession and that’s _all_ that has been playing in our house for _days_. Laurel is threatening to burn the DVD or jump into the television and murder the fish. It’s a _cartoon_.”

Oliver laughs wholeheartedly at Tommy’s words, “You should send her over here sometime. We both know how much she loves when I do those voices.”

“Send my daughter over, when you have one of your skanks here?”

“ _Don’t_.” Oliver says his voice hard as he glares at Tommy, the ice pack dropping onto the floor with a thud, “You know I would _never_ do that. Look, things may be a little hard right now and I’m dealing with it as best as I can, but you know that I would never endanger her like that.”

Tommy sighs, “I know. I’m just worried about you Oliver. It’s been 6 months and…”

“I’m dealing with it okay?” Oliver snaps back, “I’ll call Diggle, make nice and…”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Tommy says seriously, but at the glare Oliver sends him he sighs, “Okay, fine be like that. But like it or not this new attitude of yours is getting around, and I’m hearing talks of Reebok not renewing your contract.”

“And? I get hundreds of offers every year.” Oliver says easily as he leans back against the chair, “Just because I was out for the remaining of the football season doesn’t mean that the endorsement deals will suddenly stop. Would it?”

“Yes!” Tommy says in exasperation, shaking his head as Oliver sits up in alarm, “You were out for the remainder of the season, people are going to be hesitant to offer you these deals, not until you’re back on the team _playing_ the game.”

“Well that won’t be a problem then. I’m still on the team. I’m the Starling City Seahawks _quarterback_. I’m not so easily replaced. It’s only been four weeks, a handful of games.”

“Oliver, you do know what injured reserved list means right?”

“No, don’t go there. I _will_ recover and be back in shape in time for the new season.” Oliver says with finality, indicating that the conversation is over and they would no longer be discussing the possibility of that not happening.

“Okay, well back to your endorsement deals.” Tommy says steering the conversation back to easier territory, “These past few months, your new way of living to simply put it is affecting your reputation, something that you _need_ to uphold in order to get these deals. If these company’s see you’re partying day and night, picking up some random model or skank or whatever, they are going to start assuming you’re dealing with more serious things than some booty call.”

“I worked too fucking hard for my career to fuck it up with drugs.” Oliver snaps angrily kicking the small side table and sending it flying into the pool, “Just because I damaged my shoulder in the middle of a game doesn’t mean I’m going to suddenly turn to drugs. I have too many things at stake to do that.”

“Yes, I know that and _you_ know that. But, the general public does not know about your personal life, they only get a small glimpse of you at those parties and they are going to start making up their _own_ stories to go with those pictures. That’s something you don’t need, especially now, ever since your injury people have just been just waiting for you to fuck up. Don’t let them get that satisfaction. There is only so much damage control I can do before you sleep with the wrong slut and your career blows up in your face.”

Oliver sighs at Tommy’s words knowing the truth behind it, “Fine, I’ll be more discreet about it.”

“No, you’ll _stop_ sleeping with the entire female population of Starling City.” Tommy says seriously, holding up a hand when Oliver begins to protest, “It’s bad enough that in the last 5 months there have been reports of you being seen with _five_ different women and if word got around how far off that number _really_ is, things can get ugly fast.”

“Why do people fucking care who I sleep with?” Oliver asks in exasperation, “My fans are only interested in my plays and who really believes those trashy magazines anyway? Don’t they have more interesting people to write about? Like those movie stars that are fucking up their own lives?”

“Well they wouldn’t write about you if you didn’t give them something to write about.” Tommy points out, “Look the point of all this is, I came up with a way to do some serious damage control. Fix your reputation and ensure that you still have your endorsement deals at the end of the year.”

“I’m listening.” Oliver says. He trusts Tommy, they’ve known each other since high school and he knows that Tommy would never lead him astray. Oliver knows that his own reputation would also affect Tommy’s job and that alone has Oliver open to Tommy’s suggestion. It’s one thing for Oliver to be messing up his own life with everything that has happened to him in the last few months, but he refuses to bring down other people with him.

“You need a girlfriend.” Tommy says simply. “A wholesome, _nice_ girl. Not like Annie whats-her-name, who ran out of here without her freaking clothes.”

Oliver groans, not expecting that, “I’m not going to be tied down to some chick, besides I don’t feel comfortable bringing my personal life into work. You _know_ that. I want people to talk about my accomplishments, not about the girl I’m currently banging.”

“Yet, you’re being careless and being seen with every woman under the sun.”

“I thought you said it was just in Starling City.” Oliver jokes, but sighs when Tommy glares at him, “Okay, fine whatever. But, I’m not ready to date yet you know that.”

“I know, but this is strictly professional.” Tommy promises, “There’s this actress…”

“Hold up.” Oliver says raising his hand in a timeout fashion, “I don’t need some chick to _pretend_ to be my girlfriend. I can find a girl on my own thank you very much. I’ll go to one of my charity events and talk up one of the girl’s there, they seem to be wholesome enough, right?”

“No, I’m not talking about you stringing along some unsuspected girl. You and I both know you’re not ready for any kind of commitment to a girl. No need for you to fuck that relationship up in a few months and then we have even more shit to clean up. I’m talking about faking a relationship for the public, let them see that you are happy and settled and companies would want you to represent them.”

Oliver frowns scratching his day old scruff, “I don’t know. I’d have to like pretend to like this chick and we both know acting isn’t really my thing and I _hate_ all those public appearances things. Besides, what self-respecting person would even agree to this?”

“Someone who also needs their own reputation shaken up a bit in order to get somewhere in _her_ line of work.” Tommy says seriously.

Oliver’s eyes widen at Tommy’s words, “Is she a hooker?”

“No you ass!” Tommy says throwing the icepack at Oliver’s chest, “Can you _not_ say that when you meet her? Look, she has this reputation for being innocent and is only known for well rounded, sweet innocent rolls, but she wants to prove to her industry she’s more capable than that.”

“And hooking up with me would do that?” Oliver asks incredulously.

“The Seahawks star quarterback, who up until now has never once talked about his personal life?” Tommy says, “Oh yes it will sell, at least show she’s versatile, or whatever it is her publicist has been saying to me. He tends to talk a _lot_ so I tuned out a few times.”

Oliver laughs at that, but he then sighs, “Dude, I don’t know. I’m suppose to be focusing on getting back into shape…”

“It’s the best option, you get your name out there and talk about how you hope to make a full recovery. Talk about how you plan to make a come back with your girl on your side, its good for your image.” Tommy promises, “Of course, if you don’t want to this there is always option B…”

“No.” Oliver cuts him off immediately. “That’s _never_ an option. This thing with this chick will be entirely business. She is not to find out about my personal life, are we clear? I’ll do the stupid fake relationship or whatever, but that’s entirely it. She doesn’t go anywhere near my personal life.”

“Deal.” Tommy says happily as he pulls out his cellphone to make a call. “I’ll call her publicist and we can organize a meeting for the two of you to meet so we can go throw the ground rules and you two can set your own rules. Please don’t sleep with this one, Oliver. You piss this one off and I can guarantee she will ruin your career.”

“What?” Oliver asks in alarm. He scrambles out of his seat to follow Tommy back into his apartment, “Who is this woman? Tommy! What the fuck are you getting me into!”

“Chill dude, I’ll handle it.” Tommy promises as he turns his attention into his phone, waving off Oliver as he heads to the door.”

“Tommy!” Oliver calls out angrily, “Do I at least get a name?”

“Felicity Smoak!”

* * *

 

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Barry Allen asks with uncertainty.

Felicity tears her eyes away from her laptop screen to look at Barry in confusion, “But you told me this was the best option. The best way to get my name out there and show people I’m flexible, so to speak. Although, I have to ask, why is it my _personal_ life would hold more weight that my actual talents? I haven’t been killing myself at dance classes for the past six months so that whom I’m supposedly dating can give me the edge I need? I thought this business was about _talent._ The four years I’ve been immersed in this world of Broadway, I’ve been told that the reason its not like Hollywood is because people are recognized for their _talent_ first and foremost, it’s not superficial like Hollywood is. Why am I spending _hours_ in the studio perfecting my dancing only to let a relationship I’m not even in, to dictate how my career goes?”

“No, you misunderstood me. Doing this little thing will get your name out there and producers and directors will know who you are and _consider_ you for parts they normally wouldn’t have because of what you’ve done so far.”

“I was Mary Poppins in my first role, _ever_. Shouldn’t that speak for itself?” Felicity asks in exasperation.

She’s been in this business for all of four years, the role of Mary Poppins literally just falling into her lap. She was juggling multiple jobs at the time, trying to make ends meet, and babysitting seemed to be her best offer. She took one of the kids she was babysitting to the park, the toddler would only fall asleep whenever she sang to him. That day she was not so quietly sing to him when Barry, heard her and asked her if she ever sang professionally, and the rest is history as they say, within a few months she was singing on Broadway with absolutely no kind of training other than what Barry had organized for her the few short months between casting calls.

“It says that you have a _safe_ career, you don’t want to spend the rest of your time on Broadway doing Disney inspired musicals, do you?” Barry asks. He points at the laptop screen with a flourish, “ _This_ will get your foot in the door, get you out of the kiddie pool and into the grown up pool.”

Felicity looks at the screen and frowns when she sees a young man no older than 27 smiling back at her. He has a football in his hand and is dressed in complete Starling City Seahawks attire, his blond hair clean cut with a sprinkling of stubble across his chin, Felicity will admit he’s very easy on the eyes. His broad shoulders making him look even larger than he is. “A _football_ player? You want me to date a football player? I thought this agreement was with a fellow actor? Someone, who understands this business and why we are doing this? What does a footballer need with a Broadway star?”

”This is Oliver Queen.” Barry says gesturing at the screen unnecessary, pointedly ignoring Felicity’s question, “He recently injured his shoulder and was unable to finish the football season. He’s currently in recovery and hoping to make it back in time for the new season. Now, I’m not too sure about the politics of football, but Iris’ friend is the dude’s publicist and she and his manage were saying that Oliver needs to get his name out there so that he’s still relevant, and dating you would look good for his image. It’s a win win situation for the both of you.”

But Felicity has since stopped listening to Barry, as she slowly goes through the photo gallery of Oliver on her laptop. She’s obviously pleased that he’s very attractive, but her pleasure turns to that of disdain when she comes across recent pictures of Oliver, canoodling with various women, all of whom are scantily dressed. When she sees that the majority of the pictures are in fact recent, she frowns, “You want me to date a _manwhore_?”

Barry looks at her sheepishly, “Did I forget to mention that he has a bit of a reputation for being a bit of a party animal? Apparently, it’s recently gotten out of hand and his manger has some serious damage control. Hence, the reason why we both thought you could help…”

“I’m not some _tart_.” Felicity says with a huff, glaring at Barry, “This is _not_ the way I want to improve my career. I can get by on my own _talent_ , I think this entire concept is just ridiculous. I don’t need to hang onto some airbrain, who will present me like some floozy who does his every whim.”

“Okay, calm down.” Barry says seriously, as he closes the laptop down, “I already explained to you, even though its all for public appearance the both of you will set the rules. You won’t have to do anything you don’t want to and you are helping him just as much as he will be helping you, hence the agreement in the first place. I would never put you in a situation you couldn’t handle. Do you trust me?”

Felicity sighs, her shoulders slumping in defeat at his words, “Of course I do.”

“Good, just meet with him tomorrow. We’ll go through the ground rules, the two of you can chat and set your own rules. It will be fine, I promise. Also? The word is _airhead_ not airbrain.”

“Whoops, its not very often I use that term anyway.” Felicity says with a sheepish grin, “So, where are my notes?”

At Barry’s blank look she frowns, “What notes?”

“About this Oliver Queen boy.” Felicity says with exasperation, “How am I supposed to prepare if I don’t know anything about him?”

Barry’s laughter only annoys Felicity more, “I’m being serious Barry!”

“I know, and that’s why I’m laughing,” Barry says in amusement, not even deterred by her glare, “This isn’t another role, relax you can find out everything tomorrow.”

“ _Tomorrow?_ No! Barry I need to prepare. I don’t like doing things on a limb, you know that.” Felicity says with a huff. She suddenly stands up startling Barry to say the lease, even more so as she begins to pack her handbag, slipping her iPad and phone into her bag, “If you’re not going to help me, then I will have to do research on my own.”

“Research?” Barry repeats incredulously, “Felicity, where are you going? You don’t…Felicity!”

“Text me the address and time.” Felicity calls over her shoulder as she slips out of the room

“But, this is your apartment.” Barry trails off realizing he’s now talking to an empty room.

* * *

 

“You could have worn something a little less revealing.” Barry hisses under his breath as he ushers Felicity through the Merlyn Gym. He glares a few of the men by the weights, who have stopped to watch Felicity, “Eyes front boys, before you lose a limb looking at the pretty girl.”

Felicity rolls her eyes not even bothering to give the men the time of day, “I’m in character.”

“In character?” Barry groans, “Felicity, I told you…”

“You could have told me I was coming to a sweat pool.” Felicity says turning her nose up in disgust, her blond hair bouncing with the shake of her head. “Why are we in a gym anyway?”

“Because Tommy is also a personal trainer.” Barry answers as he holds open a door for her, they both breathe a sigh of relieve as they exist the main gym, “You never answered my question. What’s with the getup?”

“What?” Felicity asks in confused,

“Your ‘costume’?” Barry corrects waving his hand at her outfit.

“I’m playing the part.” Felicity says easily as she adjusts her strapless sundae dress, tugging her cropped jeans jacket closer to her body, “How do women wear these things, without worrying something will fall out?”

“I think first off you need to have something to fall out first.” A voice drawls out, startling Felicity.

She looks up her eyes narrowing at Oliver Queen who is leaning against a desk his arm folded as he gazes at her. His eyes begin to roam her entire body from head to toe, and she watches as they light up in merit, a smug grin filtering across his face. “Dude, you didn’t tell me she was hot.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Felicity stutters out not believing the audacity of this man as he blatantly checks her out, so much so that he begins to circle her. She in turn spins around trying to prevent him from looking at her body more.

Her actions only cause the other man to laugh, as he sits on the desk, folding his arms over his chest, He then looks across at Tommy who is sitting behind his desk, “She’ll do.”

“Are you telling me that you knew about this meeting and refused to prepare?” Felicity asks incredulously, her anger slowly rising, “You couldn’t even pick up your phone and _google_ who I am?”

Oliver shrugs his shoulders nonchalant, “I trust Tommy wouldn’t get me some hag to date.”

“I’ll have you know _mister_ Queen…”

“Okay.” Barry calls out, cutting Felicity off and ushering her into one of the seats in front of the desk, “Why don’t we start over, and start with introductions? My name is Barry Allen, this is Felicity Smoak.”

“I gathered that much, despite the stick up her ass.” Oliver comments dryly as Felicity splutters in horror, but before she can snap back, Tommy stands up coming around to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Felicity,” He says pleasantly, pressing his elbow into Oliver’s knee _hard_ as he passes by to get back to his seat.

Oliver rolls his eyes, but looks across at Felicity less than enthused “Hey.”

Felicity pulls back her hand when he doesn’t take it, clenching them in her lap as she counts to five trying to calm herself. She then opens her eyes to see Oliver looking at her in amusement, “Luckily for you, I came prepared, in case you weren’t able to prepare in time for this meeting. So, I took the liberty to make a small list of things about me that you’ll need to know.”

She opens her messenger bag pulling out a small binder for Oliver, she pointedly ignores his look of surprise and shoves the binder in his arms, “It’s just a few things you may need to know. I tried to research you myself, but it seems that, other than your apparently stellar football stats and your involvement in charity; there isn’t much about you online and trust me I know my way around the internet. I also…”

“Hold up.” Oliver says putting his hands up to stop her, both his hands forming a T.

“Doesn’t that mean time out?” Felicity asks curiously, “I also read up on football, can’t exactly date a footballer and not know…”

“Stop!” Oliver says in exasperated. He holds up the open file in front of her and reads off the first page, ‘“You enjoy long walks on the beach.’ ‘Reading a good book with a nice cup of _tea_?’ I’m sorry your _majesty_ , but this isn’t e-harmony. I’m your make-believe boyfriend, not your real one.”

“There is no need for you to be a prat about it.” Felicity snaps, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, “If we’re going to appear like we are dating, I expect you to know things about me and vice versa. _People_ are expecting us to know things about each other and when the question arises I’d like to have more to say than my boyfriend is an _arse_.”

“The word is ass.” Oliver says, “What centaury, were you even born in?”

Felicity and Barry exchange nervous glances at Oliver’s question, and Barry quickly steps up, “Felicity does have a point though, you don’t need to know intricate details, but you need to know things about each other so that this is believable.”

“And at lease _act_ like the two of you like each other.” Tommy pipes up, shrugging when Barry glares at him, “Don’t give me that look Allen. This entire thing would be pointless if these two aren’t believable.”

“I am a complete professional, Mr. Merlyn.” Felicity promises, “I give nothing but my best. Our first public appearance I will be nothing but attentive. People will think I worship him…I mean… They will know I think highly of him.”

“Do I get to see a preview?” Oliver asks winking at her suggestively, groaning when Tommy slaps him on the back of the head.

“Shut up, idiot.” Tommy grumbles, he shakes his head and looks at Felicity apologetically, “I’ll work on him.”

“I wasn’t aware people were able to perform miracles in this day and age.” Felicity remarks dryly, earning a laugh from all the men except Oliver, who just huffs in annoyance.

Tommy grins as he claps his hand on Oliver’s shoulder, “I like her.”

Oliver rolls his eyes as Felicity beams at Tommy, ”Don’t bother your majesty, he’s married.”

“Could you please stop with the nicknames, its not cute, only ironic.” Felicity snaps in annoyance, “Contrary to what you may think mister Queen, when a woman smiles at a man it doesn’t necessarily mean she wants to sleep with him.”

“Well, I’ve yet to see that happen to me.” Oliver says smugly.

“I’ll gladly prove you wrong for the next few months then,” Felicity replies hotly.

“Okay, before the two of start up again. Let’s go over your first meeting.” Barry says cutting into their conversation yet again, “We were thinking the two of you have coffee this weekend. There is this little place on 34th Street, a coffee house, small intimate not very well known.”

“I thought the whole point of this was for people to _know_ about us?” Oliver asks in confusion.

“Yes, but you can’t just go to some event and kiss her on the red carpet. We want people to talk, the best way to do that is by being discrete. Have coffee in a small unknown place, find a spot in the back of the room, arrive and leave separately but part ways outside of the coffee house. Try to be noticed, but don’t be obvious about it.”

Felicity nods listening attentively as she makes small notes on her iPad, ignoring the look of disbelief Oliver is giving her, just because he fails to take this seriously, doesn’t mean she won’t. “What about café Bestro? I heard…”

“No.” Oliver cuts her off his voice hard.

She would have protested, but at the look in his eyes she changes her mind, “Okay, there is one called Café Latte on 42nd its actually a basement café.”

Oliver looks at her thoughtfully for a moment, but before she can decipher the look he gives her, his face becomes passive, “That works for me, and the paparazzi?”

“I’ll organize that and let Felicity know what time they will be outside.” Barry informs him.

“Before we get to that I have some ground rules, and I’m sure you have as well.” Felicity pulls out another binder at which Oliver groans.

“Another book? Fuck, if I had known hiring you would have came with fucking homework, I would have taken my chances and found some random chick off the street.” Oliver says not even taking the binder from Felicity.

“You did not _hire_ me. We are both doing this to help each other out. I’m going to ignore your _other_ offending remark and just _tell_ you then. I have do’s and don’ts that I won’t do for this little stunt. I expect you to read them and I’d happily listen to your own.”

“I don’t really have any do’s or don’ts. I’m more of a try it once and take my chances, if you know what I mean.” Oliver says wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

“You do that and I’ll break your next shoulder.” Felicity snaps back at him angrily. She gets to her feet slapping her binder onto Oliver’s lap ignoring his wince, “I expect you to read this before we meet. My number and email is on the front page. I hope that you take this seriously and send me your own list. If you so much as break one of my rules, I’ll ensure you never set foot on a football field again.”

With those words she storms off, ignoring Barry’s calls. When Oliver asks if all that was an act or if she ‘was for real’ she frowns, clearly her acting is not up to par if he was skeptical of her parting words. Oliver Queen has another thing coming if he thinks she will be another one of his floozies that worships the ground he walks on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately updates wont be this frequently because college is a bit of a mess right now, but I will try to keep updates to once a week though. Thank you all who left comments as well as kudos. I'm glad people are enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing it.
> 
> We meet some more familiar faces in this chapter.

Oliver sits in the small coffee house, tugging his cap down when a group of young girls walk up the casher, giggling and talking animatedly, one of them dressed in a sports t-shirt. The last thing he needs are some fan-girls coming after him, especially when he’s alone in this tiny little hole-in-the-wall cafe. Those girls, are the most interesting thing, Oliver has come across the fifteen minutes he’s been sitting in the café. He glances at the screen of his phone for the millionth time impatiently; frowning when he sees it has now been 20 minutes since he arrived. Granted, he did arrive 5 minutes earlier than expected but he thought Miss Binder herself would be even earlier than expected. He growls in annoyance about to finish off his terribly tasting coffee, when his phone rings. He frowns at the unfamiliar number cautiously putting the phone to his ear. 

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" Felicity shrieks into the phone, "I don't have to do this charade, you know. I am doing you a favour, just as you are doing me one. The only difference is my career does not depend on this, if anything I personally think it might hinder it. But, given that Barry knows more about this business than I do, I'm going to trust him. Despite your less than stellar personality, I still showed up. You could at least have the common courtesy to arrive on time and returned the..."

Oliver rolls his eyes taking a sip of his coffee as he places his phone, facing upwards, on the counter. Felicity's voice coming out muffled though the tiny speakers. He stifles a laugh when her voice goes a little higher and she goes on about the merit of professionalism at least that is what he thinks she's saying.  He finishes the last of his coffee almost choking on it when she starts screaming out his name in annoyance.

Oliver smirks as he slowly picks up the phone putting it to his ear, "You know, I usually like to buy a girl dinner before she starts screaming my name. But, if this is how you roll I can more than accommodate you."

"I’m pretty sure the only thing you bought those women were drinks." Felicity snaps back dryly.

"Hey! Every single one of those women was a consenting adult. I would never take advantage of a woman like that. It's not my fault that half of them are so easy, that I just have to flash them a smile and they will do what I want."

"Could you at least try and not sound so cocky?" She asks her voice full of distain.

"If the cup fits." Oliver smirks

"Oh cups are what you use during your games right?" Felicity asks thoughtfully, "You are doing a play on words."

Oliver grunts more annoyed that she was not even affected by his comment but instead chose to analyze it of all things. What's the fun in trying to piss her off if she won't bite to his bait? "Jokes aren't funny when people have to explain it after."

"I know." Felicity says smugly.

Oliver shakes his head biting back a smile at her comment. He's gotta give her credit there, every time he thinks he's figured her out she throws him a curve ball. But, it's only the second time they've had a conversation - more like she spends half her time yelling at him- so he is still in debate on what he really thinks of her, "Whatever. Where the fuck are you anyway? I been waiting for 20 fucking minutes and you go on about professionalism but your fine ass isn't sitting next to me now is it?"

"I'll let the comment about my arse slide, mainly because I'm confused."

"What's there to be confused about? You have a hot ass, sure it would be hotter without the stick shoved...""

"I'm talking about our coffee date!" Felicity snaps back.

"We agreed to meet at the coffee house. I wasn't picking you up, your highness."

"I know that you imbicle." Felicity snaps, she breathes in deeply, "I'm sitting at the coffee place."

"No I am." Oliver says stupidly, now thoroughly confused and he can tell she is as well.

"What? I'm pretty sure I didn't just imagined that I bought an overpriced ice tea, while I sit here by myself."

Oliver groans at the word overprice, "Felicity, what coffee house are you at?"

"Cafe Bestro, like we agreed." Felicity says smartly, "You would be too, if you gave this thing even an ounce of your attention."

"I'm at Cafe Latte, the place we _actually_ agreed on." Oliver says deadpan.

"No, I'm pretty sure we agreed upon Café Bestro, because you said it yourself. You didn't want to....bloody hell."

After that exclamation Oliver can't help but laugh out loud, he knows he should be upset especially after the lecture she just gave him about tardiness and professionalism, but she's apologizing so profusely he is more amused than anything, best of all he will get to rub it in her face.

"Stop apologizing your highness and get your ass here before the paparazzi show up and end up taking solo pics of me." Oliver says rolling his eyes and then hangs up.

He smirks knowing Felicity would probably not take to kindly to that, sure enough his phone beeps and he sees he has a new text message. Maybe he does have her figured out more than he originally thought. He quickly adds her number to his phone under the title _Princess_ , he grins at that knowing if she saw that she would flip. The irony that his name is Queen is not lost to him since the moment he started calling her a princess.

He then shakes his head when his phone beeps three more times before he can even go back to the message app. Sure enough she's sent him three more messages

_You could have at least had the decency to allow me to apologize._

_Well lucky that's what text messages are for_

_In case you are wondering I'm on my way, please order me a chocolate muffin._

_Also I will apologize in person but I just want to say I'm sorry for my error, even more so for yelling at you the way that I did. That was uncalled for, I'd say you have free reign to do the same in return, but I suspect you with your filthy mind will take that comment the wrong way._

_I will see you in 15 minutes._

Oliver shakes his head wondering how on earth someone can text that much in such a short period of time. He types back the letter ‘K’ in response smirking at his screen. He’s almost 100% certain he just pissed her off even more than she already is. Normal women _hate_ one word responses, _especially_ to such lengthy messages, with someone like Felicity, he’s pretty sure he just set himself up for an earful.

He's also slightly surprised at how easily she seems to have figured him out as well. He's never met anyone who is able to read him like a book after the first encounter. With the business he's currently in he's prided himself into thinking he's a hard person to read, that way people can't take advantage of him because of his fame. But, Felicity who has met him all of five minutes seems to have already picked things up about him, surprising him to say the least. He’s not sure if he’s impressed or a bit peeved by this, he refuses to let this highly annoying woman get under his skin.

He’s about to open a game on his phone, when it vibrates in his hand signalling a message, when he sees Princess roll over the screen he rolls his eyes, even more so when he sees her message.

_Come out side._

**_Y_ ** **.**

He responds while shaking his head, she talks about audacity, yet she’s the one who is almost 45 minutes late, and yet demands he comes outside to meet her. Something, he _knows_ was never part of the plan, so he remains rooted in his seat, but frowns when his phone begins to chime. He makes a mental note to select a specific song to Felicity’s contact.

“The paparazzi are outside.” Felicity says tersely, without greeting him, “You need to come out here and get me.”

“Why? You can’t handle them on you own?” Oliver asks in amusement.

“This is the time they were originally intended to come, if I’m here _alone_ they will think it was a set up. We both know they are more interested in you than me. Just get outside and we’ll go in together.” Felicity says sternly, she then hangs up on him, clearly leaving no room for argument.

Oliver shakes his head but quickly slips out of the booth and heads to the entrance of the door. When he walks up the small flight of stairs to the sidewalk, he frowns seeing Felicity standing by herself phone pressed to her ear, her black framed glasses slightly askew, pedestrians walking around her but no paparazzi in sight. Oliver shakes his head in disbelief as he walks up her to her. “Hey!”

Felicity on seeing him lights up slipping her phone into handbag, to Oliver’s utter surprise she smiles brightly pulling him in for a hug and placing a kiss on his cheek. Oliver for his part wraps his arms around her tiny torso frozen in place as he feels Felicity’s curves press against his body.

“Smile, you idiot.” Felicity says teeth clench as she places her head against his shoulder.

“There is no one here.” Oliver says plastering a smile on his face as she takes a step back and looks up at him with a bright smile as she takes his hand swinging it slightly.

“10 o’clock.” Felicity says as she gestures animatedly at the skyscrapers surrounding them, a smile still prominent, when Oliver looks over his shoulder in confusion Felicity takes his arm wrapping it around her shoulder snuggling up against him, “Your left, behind the bus stop.”

“Wow, you have eyes like a hawk.” Oliver says in surprise. He then grins an idea coming to him, “Hey Felicity?”

“Uh?” Felicity asks in surprise looking at him.

Once she’s looking up at him, he tugs her towards him so she’s flushed against his body again, her eyes are wide as he leans forward, but before he can press his lips onto hers she moves her head so that his lips press against her cheek instead as she loops her arms around his neck, “I’m going to kill you.”

Oliver just laughs in response. This time genuinely smiling as his arm, that are wrapped around Felicity torso slips lower and his fingers splay across her ass squeezing it gently. He feels her body tense as she pulls away. She keeps her back to the paparazzi as she tugs him down the stairs of the coffee house, the moment they are inside she shoves him up against the wall roughly.

“How _dare_ you!” Felicity screeches, gaining the attention of a few of the patrons. She breathes deeply and glares up at Oliver who is grinning down at her still pressed against the wall, “I _told_ you there are rules!”

“I read your rules, and you said that was allowed.” Oliver says innocently.

He points at the small booth in the back of the room where his empty cup of coffee still sits. He sees the group of teenager girls now watching them trying to be discreet and he knows from the way one of their eyes light up, that he has been recognized. Oliver smiles warmly at the girls, biting back a laugh when they squeal in excitement waving at him, he waves back earnestly as then turns back to Felicity who is looking at him curiously. He places his hand on her shoulder ushering her to their seat, mindful of their audience, “What?”

“Nothing.” Felicity lies, as she glances at the group of girls then back at Oliver. She smiles warmly at the waitress who brings her a menu, “I didn’t think you would be one to do the whole fan thing.”

“It’s part of the job.” Oliver says nonchalant trying to appear as though it’s not a big deal. He’s not sure why he doesn’t want Felicity to know how much he values his fans. She gives him one final look almost as if she’s trying to figure him out, but she just shakes her head, her ponytail swishing behind her, before she looks back at her menu.

“You pull a stunt like that again, and I’ll cut off your fingers.” Felicity says icily. She still has her face buried in the menu, so Oliver can’t tell if she’s serious or not.

“You know, this is the second time you’ve threaten me bodily harm since we’ve met.” Oliver points out, grinning when she looks up at him with narrowed eyes. He can tell she’s fighting the urge to scowl at him, but she too is very aware of their small audience, “I’m going to start thinking I’m dating some kind of serial killer or something.”

Felicity rolls her eyes as she takes Oliver hands in hers putting their clasp hand on the table, her nails digging into his skin and she can see him wincing in pain, smiles still plastered across both of their faces, “You are not to pull a stunt like that again, got it?”

Oliver rolls his eyes yanking his hand out of her grasp, “ _You_ were the one that wrote that kissing was allowed, as well as ‘innocent touching’. I’m just abiding by your rules, boss.”

Felicity rolls her eyes, just as the waitress comes up to her, “I’ll have the chocolate chip muffin and a glass of milk, please. You can put it on his tab.”

“It’s a date isn’t it?” Felicity asks cheekily at Oliver’s incredulous expression.

“You known for maiming men on the first date?” Oliver asks pointing at the nail marks in the crease of his palm. He then smirks, “Aren’t you full of surprises, Miss Smoak.”

“My rules clearly state that you must inform me of anything you have planned.” Felicity says tersely as she steers the conversation back to matter at hand, “Clearly kissing is allowed, but I’d like to know when you’re going to do it and Tommy and Barry both said that these first pictures are suppose to be innocent. Grabbing my ass is not _innocent_ ,”

“Relax, it gives them something to talk about, which is exactly what we want.” Oliver says easily. He then looks at his phone frowning, “What time can we leave?”

“Seriously? We _just_ walked in, I haven’t even gotten my order yet.”

“Well, I’ve been here for 45 minutes already.” Oliver says tersely, “It’s not my fault you can’t follow simple instructions.”

“I already apologized for that.” Felicity protests sheepishly, “I’m really sorry I mixed up the places, I wrote it down on my iPad, but that was more to remind myself to ask you why you were so against going to that particular café. Although a little on the pricy side, it had a very homey feeling to it.”

“That’s none of your business.” Oliver says curtly, his body tensing at her questions involuntarily.

“No need to bite my head off, it was just a question,” Felicity replies, with a slight huff, “I was simply making conversation. We’re stuck here anyway, why not get to know each other?”

“Because this is not a date. “Oliver says firmly, “This is business, I’m not here to make small talk with you.”

“Fine, if that’s how you’re going to be.” Felicity scowls as she pulls out her iPad, swiping the screen a few times.

Oliver looks at her incredulously, just because it’s not a date doesn’t mean she needs to blatantly ignore him, they do have an image to uphold. Felicity then looks at him seriously, “You failed to send me your own rules, so I made a list of questions to ask you. I assumed you were going to be as difficult as possible with this, and you proved me right.”

Oliver frowns about to retort, but at the same time Felicity’s order arrived along with Oliver’s bill. Oliver rolls his eyes placing the money for her order on the table. He looks across at Felicity as she bites into her muffin with gusto and bites back a smile. He expected her to be one of those health nut chicks, but she’s eating that muffin like it’s her last meal and if Oliver’s being honest with himself, it turns him on just a bit.

“Sorry.” Felicity says sheepishly as she washes down the muffin with milk and wiping her mouth with a napkin, “I skipped lunch, and well it’s my own fault I’ve been waiting over an hour for this date.”

“A muffin is lunch?” Oliver asks despite himself, part of him hates the fact that she intrigues him this much.

She grins sheepishly, “Yea, why not? Just don’t let Barry know.”

“If I do, does that mean we would have to call off this whole thing?” Oliver jokes.

“You’re an arse.” Felicity snipes back, clearly not seeing the joke, “Tell me a little bit about your family, so that when people ask I at least don’t look like an incompetent fool. That look may suit you, but it doesn’t work with me.”

“No one is going to ask you about my personal life, they know nothing about it.” Oliver says sternly, as he glances at his phone yet again, before looking back at her, “People are going to ask you about _me_ and what I’m like, given that they have never seen this side of me. Just make it up as you go, you’re smart enough to figure it out.”

“Flattery will not get you anywhere.” Felicity snaps, but Oliver can see the barest hint of a blush on her cheeks, “What’s the big secrecy? Wouldn’t you want people to know even a little bit about your life, so they know you’re normal?”

“I damaged my shoulder in one of the biggest games of the season, it will take _months_ for me to get back into shape because of it.  My recovery takes just as long as any other _normal_ person.” Oliver grumbles.

“There is more to life than football you know.” Felicity points out prodding more.

Figures she wouldn’t be one to let things go, “You’re a Broadway star, one of the most promising stars of this generation according to one of those articles online. I’m sure you eat, drink and sleep performing, probably for your entire life.”

To his surprise, Felicity stiffens at his words, “Actually, it’s not like that at all. Broadway only fell into my lap a few years ago. I was familiar with theatre, but not Broadway. Barry actually heard me sing randomly in a park and sort of got my career going. That’s how we met.”

Oliver opens his mouth just about to ask her what she did before this, but caught himself. He doesn’t need to learn her life story, anymore than she needs to know his. “Okay, no need for the history lesson.”

Felicity glares at him, “You know, it won’t hurt to be a normal person with feelings for _once_ in your life. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of Oliver, but that wall you have build around you isn’t just keeping you from getting to know people, but it also preventing them from learning about you. Sooner or later you’re going to realize you have no one in your life and it would be entirely your fault.”

 “Too late.” Oliver mutters under his breath. But, he can see Felicity has heard him because she looks at him with sympathy only angering Oliver more.

He’s just about to snap at her and effectively end this stupid charade they have going on when his phone rings. He snaps it up quickly before Felicity can see the screen, “Is she ready?”

Oliver groans, breathing deeply as he listens to other person on the line, “You told me 4 o’clock, last time I checked it was only 3:30….I can’t read your fucking mind…don’t even go there…fuck…no I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Where I am is not your concern anymore…just fucking wait for me.”

With that said he slaps the phone on the table huffing slightly, he looks across at Felicity who is looking at him, for once in her life she seems to know when not to speak, “I have to go. C’mon I’ll get you a cab.”

At Felicity’s surprised expression he laughs humourlessly, “I do know how to be a gentleman, I choose not to be most of the time.”

He expects her to respond to his comment, but he frowns when she’s still looking at him concern. She picks up her handbag and follows him silently out of the small café, “Oliver.”

“Don’t.” Oliver warns.

Felicity sighs, but nods her head as he hails a cab for her, “Thanks for the muffin, the date wasn’t too bad either. You could use some work.”

Oliver scowls, but falters when he sees her smiling up at him, teasing him. He shakes his head as a cab comes to a stop in front of them, when he doesn’t open the door for her she shakes her head as she opens the door and slips into the cab, “Felicity? Next time, choose a hotter dress, like the first time we met.”

“You’re dating a wholesome nice girl.” Felicity calls out teasingly as she shuts the door, sticking her head out the window, “Get use to it!’

Oliver shakes his head smiling despite himself, the damn girl got under his skin without him even realizing it.

* * *

 

“She can’t stop talking.” Oliver grumbles as he grabs the bowl of mash potatoes, helping himself to a large spoonful, “She even texts like she talks. She sent me a paragraph apologizing for being late. You better be right about this shit. This woman is a nightmare.”

Tommy, who has been listening to Oliver grumble and complain about Felicity for the past hour looks at Oliver in amusement, “You sound as though you had a good time.”

Oliver blanches at Tommy’s words throwing a few peas at Tommy’s head, mindful of Laurel who is only a few feet way in the kitchen on the phone, “What part of she’s a nightmare don’t you understand? She calls me to yell at me for being late when _she’s_ the one that mixed up the venue, but yet she made it sound like it was _my_ fault. Who does that? She’s so nosy too, she keeps prodding and poking wanting to know _everything_ about me, what part of business _only_ doesn’t she understand?”

Tommy rolls his eyes, just as Laurel walks into the dinning room with a salad bowl, “Are we still talking about Oliver’s crush on his fake girlfriend?”

Oliver almost chokes on his mash potatoes just as Tommy laughs wholeheartedly, “Yup.”

“I don’t have a crush on her!” Oliver protests, “She drives me crazy. She talks too much. I can barely pay attention to her. I don’t have a crush on her!”

“Yet, you spent the last hour talking about her.” Laurel remarks dryly, “This is just like…”

“Don’t you dare.” Oliver warns pointing a finger at her warningly. He looks across at Tommy, “Talk to her.”

Tommy rolls his eyes, “Like I can tell her what to do. She has a point though, I thought for sure you would be telling me about how much you hated her and ready to call quits after the first meeting, I even had another girl on backup. I never expected you to have a thing for this girl. Barry and I were positive the two of you were like fire and ice.”

“I don’t have a thing for her!” Oliver all but yells, but cowers when Laurel glares at him, glancing down the hallway to the bedrooms, all of them holding their breath for any movement. “Sorry.”

“You’re behaving like a child.” Laurel says with a roll of her eyes, “You’ve just spent the last hour complaining about this woman, but yet you’ve yet to tell Tommy that you want out of this thing. Clearly, some part of you is interested in her. Wipe that look off your face, you look constipated; you know I’m right. So, you have a crush on your fake girlfriend, nothing is wrong with that. You should bring her over for dinner some time, all I’ve gotten from my _lovely_ husband is she’s hot.”

“I’m not inviting her for dinner!” Oliver grumbles, “We aren’t dating. This is all for show, the pictures are already circulating the internet and I’ve gotten a few calls asking me who’s the new girl.”

“You didn’t say anything right?” Tommy asked in alarm, he knew he should have all calls from magazine journalist to be forward to him.

“Of course not, we need to keep them guessing.” Oliver says smartly, “I should probably call Felicity to organize a next coffee date or something.”

“Since when do you do anything for yourself?” Laurel asks in amusement, at the look Oliver gives her she rolls her eyes, “I’m talking about work related business. Well _I_ am talking about business, the question is are _you_?”

Tommy laughs raising his hand for a high five, at which Laurel grins returning in kind, much to Oliver’s annoyance, “Good one.”

“I don’t know why I bothered coming over here.” Oliver grumbles, “The two of you are always ganging up on me.”

“Oh boo-hoo, don’t be a pussy.” Tommy says, but groans when Laurel slaps him over the head for his language.

Oliver snickers in amusement, but then scowls when Laurel grins at him, “You come here for the food. Don’t worry I don’t take it personally, I know you need my food to bitch about your day like a girl. Seems like you need it to gush about a girl as well.”

“I don’t….” Oliver sighs deciding it’s pointless to argue, “Fuck off, both of you.”

“Language!” Laurel admonished throwing a napkin at Oliver, “Little ears have even bigger mouths. Practice it now, so when you’re around her you don’t slip.”

Oliver rolls his eyes, but nods his head anyway. The three of them continue their meal in relative silence until Tommy’s phone chimes loudly. He looks down at it and frowns as he reads the screen, to Oliver surprise he turns around and glares at Oliver, “What the fuck did you do?”

Oliver’s eyes widen as he tries to swallow his food to speak, but Tommy beats him to it, “Barry says Felicity is bitching to him and wants out of this arrangement. What the fuck did you do? It was _one_ stupid date, it was a coffee date for fucks sake!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Oliver protests, “I mean sure we both were arguing a bit, but she was gives as good as she gets! She even started some of them.”

“Are you five?” Laurel asks incredulously, “Are you really using the ‘she started it’ argument? Oliver, I understand things have been hard for you these past few months…”

“Laurel.” Tommy warns.

“No, I’ve stayed silent enough. Oliver, I get that you are hurt and confused for up until now I’ve held my tongue because these stunts you’ve been pulling have only been affecting you. But now it’s affecting your work and how you treat women. This is not you Oliver, it’s time you face your problems and fix things.”

Oliver scowls at her words, “ You know nothing about what I’m going through, your entire life hasn’t been a _lie_ for the past 5 years.”

Laurel sighs, “Fine, be like that. But Oliver listen to me carefully if you continue like this one day you’re going to mess up so badly it’s going to cost you the most thing in your life. Neither of us wants that.”

Oliver sighs nodding his head silent, her words resonating through him. He knows he’s been fucking up lately but Laurel is right, that’s one thing he can’t fuck up.

“Dude, you grabbed her ass?” Tommy calls out in amusement holding up his phone, bring Oliver out of his thoughts, “You got balls.”

Tommy groans when Laurel slaps him across the head, “Woman! Enough with the violence already.”

“Again are you five?” Laurel asks turning on Oliver.

“What five year old do _you_ know that grabs girl’s asses?” Tommy quips, “Keep the pervy kid away from my daughter.”

He yelps when Laurel slaps him at the back of his head again, “I’m asking if this is Oliver’s equivalent of pulling her pigtails on the playground.”

Oliver scowls just as Tommy laughs loudly at the comment grinning slyly, “Oh Oliver wants to play with her, but I’m pretty sure it’s not her pigtails he’s interested in.”

“Well I was told to not sleep with this one.” Oliver quips

“So you _do_ want to sleep with her.” Laurel accuses grinning in triumphant.

Oliver rolls his eyes, “She’s hot, who wouldn’t want to tap that? I don’t _like_ her. I don’t even know what she’s bitching to her publicist for, anyway. The date didn’t end badly, it could have been worse. Besides, if she was really upset she wouldn’t have told him to tell you, she would have simply told _me_ what’s wrong. She’s doesn’t seem like one to keep that to herself.”

“Really?” Laurel grins teasingly making Oliver scowl, “Does she now?”

“Shut it.” Oliver grumbles biting into a dinner roll, “Just tell that publicist of hers things will be fine. She needs to stop being a fucking drama queen. Yes I heard the irony in that statement, don't even start with me.”

* * *

 

“Just remember to practice the moves I showed you, twice a day.” John Diggle says as he and Oliver walk out of the small office and into the main reception area, “Don’t overexert yourself. This is all about gaining strength back in your shoulder, if you do too much, too soon it would only set yourself back more and we don’t want that.”

Oliver nods as he rubs his shoulder spinning it in a circle, trying to relax his tightening muscles. The exercises always leaves him sore after and right now he just wants to soak in the hot tub for the remainder of the day, “Thanks dude, about last time I’m sorry about how I was behaving.”

John laughs clapping Oliver on the back, “Oliver trust me, you aren’t the only cranky patient I’ve ever had. I’ve once had one of those medicine balls thrown at my head. Most of the people I see are angry at the world, because of their accidents. My job is not just about getting people back in to their normal routine but helping them deal with these accidents as well.”

Oliver nods about to respond but frowns when he notices the familiar blonde sitting in the reception area. Felicity is dressed in yoga pants and a tank, her hear pulled back in one, a duffle bag at her feet. On seeing Oliver, she smiles widely waving at him, almost as if Oliver is expecting her.

“Wow.” Avery, the assistant at the reception desk whistles as Felicity gets to her feet and bends over to grab her bag. Oliver has to admit she’s got an awesome ass, and it feels as good as it looks. From Avery’s expression it seems like he is thinking the same thing as Oliver, and Oliver hates that he is irritated by this.

“Hey you.” Felicity greets brightly going on her tiptoes to kiss Oliver on the cheek, “I was on my way to dance class and I remembered you would be here and it was on the way. I thought you could walk me to class?”

“Sure.” Oliver says numbly. John clears his throat looks at Felicity then back at Oliver, “Oh this is Felicity. Felicity, John Diggle my physio.”

“Nice to meet you, John.” Felicity says, smiling brightly as she shakes John's hand, “I hope you’re not working my guy too hard?”

“’Course not.” John says sending Felicity a smile that Oliver is not comfortable with, “I’m sure _you_ could more than handle it?”

Oliver scowls slightly at John's overly friendly manner, Felicity just basically confirmed she was his (something he needs to mention, cause that was never part of the plan so early on) and this dude is blatantly flirting with her while he is standing right there. Oliver loops his arm around Felicity, pulling her to him, “Thanks for today dude. I’ll see you on Wednesday. Gotta get the little lady to her dance class. Can’t be late.”

“It was nice to meet you, Felicity!”

John calls after them as Oliver ushers Felicity to the door, not giving her time to say goodbye. Felicity shoves Oliver slightly the moment they are out the door as she tugs the strap of her duffle bag onto her shoulder, “You could have at least _tried_ to be polite.”

“Whatever.” Oliver grumbles, “Why are you here?”

“You’re walking me to class and staying to watch my class.” Felicity informs him.

“What the fuck for?” Oliver groans, “Don’t you think I have things to do? I never agreed to this. We said we’ll go to places together, dinner and such. Nowhere, did it say I have to sit through your boring ass class.”

“You can bitch and moan about this till you’re blue in the face, but that won’t change the fact that you _are_ walking me to my class.” Felicity informs him. She holds out her duffle bag for him, her _pink_ duffle bag looking at him expectantly.

“No way in hell.” Oliver says, “It’s _pink_.”

“People aren’t going to think its _yours_ , you prat. They are going to think that you’re simply a gentleman.” Felicity says calmly as she grabs his hand slipping the duffle bag onto his good shoulder, “I seem to remember you telling me, that you do know how to be one. Prove it.”

Oliver rolls his eyes as he slips the bag on his shoulder properly, wincing when he moves his bad shoulder more, it’s still sore from his therapy session. “ _I_ seem to remember someone telling me, that I was such a gentleman at dinner you were wondering if I had a twin.”

He looks across at Felicity grinning smugly when she blushes in embarrassment, “You were particularly pleasant that night. I’m still trying to figure out why.”

“Good, does that mean I can skip this whole dance thing?” Oliver asks hopefully.

“There is it.” Felicity says dryly. She huffs slightly but then sighs, “Stay for five minutes then you can leave. I’m sure the paparazzi will be gone by then anyway.”

“I still don’t see why I need to _go_ with you to this thing.” Oliver grumbles, “Can’t I just drop you off?”

“Stop behaving like a 5 year old.” Felicity remarks, “You got your way, it’s not like I _want_ you to come to my dance class and distract all the women, anyway.”

“Oh _really_?” Oliver drawls out. He grins smugly down at her, wiggling his eyebrows at her, “Do you think I’m distracting, Miss Smoak?”

Felicity rolls her eyes, but yet again Oliver can see the barest hint of a blush reach her cheeks. “Why would I be distracted by _you_? Don’t I see your ugly mug enough to be use it by now?”

“Wow, low blow.” Oliver says dramatically. He places his hand over his heart looking at her with mock forlorn, “You wound me.”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at his words, grinning up at him, “I think you’ll live. It’s about time you learned, that not every woman will think you are attractive.”

“You know, I never pegged you for a liar.” Oliver quips smirking at her.

“Don’t peg me, I’m not peg-able.” Felicity retorts. She wrinkles her nose at her words, making Oliver laugh, “You know what I mean. If you won’t let me peg you, then you can’t peg me.”

“Well I didn’t realize we were talking about _that_ kind of pegging.” Oliver says with a grin.

He laughs again when Felicity groans at his innuendo, he just knows he’s going to get a mouthful for that comment. As luck would have it, just as Felicity opens her mouth to respond, Oliver’s phone begins to ring.

“I feel like you planned that.” Felicity says through narrowed eyes, “This conversation isn’t over.”

But Oliver isn’t listening to her, he looks down at his screen frowning at the name staring back at him, “Hello?

He immediately releases a sigh of relief when he hears an all too familiar voice. He smiles broadly all the tension in his body leaving as he listens to the caller, “Hey Katie…I can pick you up now if you want…okay…I’ll call her and let her know…I’ll see you soon…Bye.”

When he slips the phone into his pocket still smiling to himself, he freezes on seeing Felicity’s curious expression, “Who’s Katie?”

“None of your business.” Oliver snaps

“Are you kidding me?” Felicity asks angrily, “Do you have a _girlfriend_? What in the bloody hell was all this for then?”

She wants to point out that she could find out on her own, start digging into his past, way beyond the basic searches, but her extra-curricular activity, as she likes to call it, is not something she’s ready to share with the quarterback anytime soon. 

“I told you. It’s none of your business.” Oliver says sternly, not ready to deal with some blow out in the middle of a busy Starling City street, “This has nothing to do with our arrangement or  _anything_ work related. It’s personal, that’s all you’re getting.”

“You’re an insufferable prat.” Felicity grumbles, “Everything is a secret with you. If I didn’t know any better I’d think you worked for the CBI or something.”

“CBI?” Oliver asks confused. His eyes then widen comically, “Do you mean the _F.B.I_?”

Felicity’s eyes widen in horror at her mistake, which confuses Oliver even more, “Where _are_ you from?”

“New York. That was a simple faux pas.” Felicity says somewhat uneasily, peaking Oliver’s curiosity even more. She suddenly grabs his hand and tugs him towards the dance studio effectively ending the conversation.

Oliver is beginning to realize that he’s not the only one with secrets.


	3. Chapter 3

“No.” Oliver answers defiantly from the couch, so much so as folding his arms over his chest. Felicity almost checks to see if he’s pouting as well, he can be such a child at times. 

Felicity huffs and slaps him on the back of his head, “You can at least _listen_ to what they have to say before you protest.”

“Are we at the part of this relationship where you can slap me whenever you want?” Oliver asks her smirking slightly. She just knows she’s not going to like where he’s going with this. “If so, does that mean I can touch your ass whenever I want?”

“You can _try_ , but I can’t promise that you will have any fingers when you’re done,” Felicity says pleasantly, sending him a smile at which Oliver just laughs at. 

Felicity may threaten him with violence on a daily basis, but Oliver knows for a fact she could not hurt a fly. There was an incident with a spider the previous week and to Oliver’s great amusement, Felicity didn’t demand he killed it, instead she demanded he let the thing go. Oliver knows for a fact she’s more talk than anything, not that he would _ever_ tell her that. By now he only annoys her just to see how she reacts, the girl’s wit amuses him greatly.

“Okay, let’s move on,” Tommy says interrupting them.

Felicity suddenly raises her hand, almost as though she’s in a classroom. Oliver looks at her in disbelief as Tommy gestures to continue, “Aren’t you his manager? Doesn’t he have like a publicist to do this?”

“Is that a problem, your highness?” Oliver growls, okay sometimes she is too pushy for her own good.

“No, you idiot, I’m just asking out of curiosity,” Felicity snaps back, “Although, with your _sunny_ personality it’s no surprise the only one that willingly once to put up with you is your best friend.”

“Well, you seem to enjoy my company these past few nights.” Oliver fires back with a smirk.

“Yes, I am starting to think you may have a multiple personality disorder.” 

 “All right you two! Let’s just move on before someone loses a limb.” Tommy calls out yet again, breaking them up.

He gives Oliver one final look before refocusing on his initial announcement. He holds out two invitations to them. She sees the familiar black and silver invitation with elaborate embroidery and her name over it. She knows all too well what that envelope is. The other is addressed to Oliver. It’s a huge contrast to her invitation, decorated in bright colours of the rainbow splashed across the entire envelope. Oliver’s name looks as though it was written by a 5 year old, which she assumed was the theme, given the tiny drawings of a group of stick people at the corner of the envelope. She is so fascinated by the invitation that she doesn’t see Oliver yank _her_ invitation out of Tommy’s hand until he’s waving it in her face.

“I am _not_ going to some boring ass art gallery to look at a bunch of pictures drawn by dead guys,” Oliver grumbles. “Or to listen to a bunch of stuck-up middle aged people try and ‘understand’ what the artist was trying to portray.”

“Do I _really_ have to take him?” Felicity whines to Barry. 

Usually, she is all for these things. Oliver frustrates her to no end; don’t get her wrong. But it’s not like he annoys her or she can’t stand him anymore. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she _craves_ his company, but she thinks she’s reached the point where she at least enjoys the handful of outings and dates they have gone on. Its safe to say they have turned into dates, since she learns just a little bit more about Oliver every day. Nothing too personal obviously, the boy is still stubborn as a mule. But she’s learned that they both have a love for food and are willing to try just about anything.

Just last week they decided to try the new sushi place a few blocks away from Oliver’s apartment building and Felicity had never laughed so hard in her life. They both had unfortunate instances of trying terribly tasting rolls and she almost killed Oliver when he _lied_ and told her the one he just tried tasted ‘awesome’ and in truth it tasted like feet. He only told her that _just_ to see her taste it and as luck would have it, they were eating outside and they both knew their pictures were being taken. When Oliver fed her the awful tasting rolls, Felicity was forced to eat it and not throw her already chewed up food at him like she would have liked (They were at a restaurant. Cameras or not, she couldn’t _actually_ do that, but the idea of it did entertain her for a while). She easily got him back another time when they went for Indian food and she told him her Chicken Tikka Masala was not spicy. When Oliver tried it, his entire face turned red and he was sweating profusely. Felicity couldn’t stop laughing. Later that night, he texted her complaining that he was stuck on the toilet because of her and thus she needed to keep him company for the remainder of the night. She could have easily turned her phone on silent and ignored him, but she felt bad that she was the reason he was in pain in the first place. 

That night she learned just a little bit about Oliver’s childhood and what his mother would do whenever he was sick and she offered up just a little bit of information about her mother, but her past is not something she enjoys divulging in. It was only then when she was faced with sharing about her own past that she realized that Oliver wasn’t the only one that was tight-lipped about his past. She realized she couldn’t push him on finding out about him any more that he could about her.

Not like it matters, they aren’t _actually_ dating anyway. She has to keep reminding herself of that. Especially when there are days that she finds herself wanting to call Oliver, just to see how his day has been and she realizes she can’t.

“She doesn’t want me to go. I don’t want to go. I say the decision has been made,” Oliver says easily. He grabs his own invitation waving it in the air, “And, since you have all been going on about how this thing is a two-way street, this just means she can’t go to the charity event. Oh _no_.”

Then there are days like today where Felicity is reminded why this is all work in the first place and she feels like strangling Oliver, “I’m more than happy to take you, if you knew how to behave. I don’t need your sarcastic comments about these famous paintings offending any of the people there. Or worse, for you to fart in the middle of one the speeches.”

Oliver grins wholeheartedly at her comment, “We’ve only been ‘dating’ for a month and already you know me so well.”

“That’s because you have the sense of humor of a 10 year old boy,” Felicity quips.

“Why are you even going to a stuffy old art exhibit anyway?” Oliver asks truthfully. “You’re a Broadway actress. Last time I checked, smelly old men in suits looking at million year-old paintings isn’t actually Broadway.”

“One of the owners of these things is the producer of Chicago. I’m going there to show support and mingle with them. Its good to show my face at these things, especially if I’m personally invited,” Felicity says, holding up the invitation.

“Do they even have press at these things?” Oliver asks looking back at Tommy and Barry. “I’m assuming the whole point of this is that you want us to go on the red carpet together?”

“Look at you, actually using your brain,” Felicity teases. 

She squeals when Oliver pokes her and ends up tickling her in the process. She quickly scoots over to the other side of the couch. She presses her feet against the side of his thigh, looking at him warningly. Oliver puts his hands up in defence and covers his crotch, glaring at her, “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

That comment causes her to laugh, “Its good that you know that.”

Oliver takes one of her throw pillows, pausing to look at the frilly pink pillow in disgust and then look at her incredulously, “Really?”

“My house. My stuff,” Felicity says defensively. She goes to grab the pillow but to her surprise, Oliver yanks it away from her. “Give it back!”

“No. It’s ugly as fuck, but it will do.” Oliver says and then nudges her foot back, slipping the pillow between her feet and his thigh. He soon adds one more and looks over the pillows at her, “Now, I feel safe.”

“And you call _me_ the drama queen,” Felicity says with a roll of her eyes, "I think _you_ should change your name to Drama."

"That's the lamest joke in the book." Oliver says deadpan, "You could’ve at least _tried."_

_"Shut up."_ She grumbles, her cheeks tinted red in embarrassment.

 She looks across at Barry to see he’s looking at their exchange curiously, giving her an almost scandalous look that she doesn’t understand. She wants to ask him what the look is about, but she suspects it has to do with Oliver. When Barry looks at Oliver then back at her, his eyebrows raise and she just rolls her eyes, _finally_ catching on. 

She pointedly ignores him.

“We figured the two of you - Oliver mostly - would be against this,” Tommy says, ducking when Oliver throws one of Felicity’s pillows at his head.

“For someone who is this big shot football player, I figured you would have better aim than that.” Felicity teases, laughing when Oliver’s head whips around and he glares at her.

“He _ducked!_ That pillow may be the ugliest thing I ever saw, but it’s not _magical_ ,” Oliver snaps.

“Hey, it’s a perfectly beautiful pillow, no need to…”

“Okay, before the two of you go at it _again_ ,” Tommy calls out, rolling his eyes, “We decided you get to choose which event you are _both_ going to and the other event you go solo but we allow questions about your relationship.”

“You are _not_ to discuss anything about our sex life,” Felicity says immediately looking at Oliver sternly. She _knows_ from the smirk on his face that he was going to voice that.

“Are _you_ thinking about our sex life?” Oliver teases. He wiggles his eyebrows at her, “We should exchange notes; you can tell me if I’m good as you think I am. I’m probably better, FYI.”

Felicity scoffs, “In my experience when a man _thinks_ he’s as good as he says he is, he usually falls _way_ below par.”

Both Barry and Tommy begin to laugh at Oliver’s expense, neither of them caring when Oliver glares at them. He huffs in annoyance when Felicity just smirks at him in response, “She’s not coming to my charity event with me.”

“Oh don’t be such a baby. Just because I bruised your ego doesn’t mean you have to behave like a child,” Felicity says with a roll of her eyes. “Personally, I think it’s sweet that almost all of your charities are for kids.”

“Are you trying to sweet talk me into agreeing to allow you to this thing?” Oliver asks in amusement.

“No, I was giving you a genuine compliment,” Felicity says truthfully. “It says a lot about a man. At least I think so.”

“You _really_ want to go to this thing don’t you?” Oliver asks in amusement.

“Only you, Oliver Queen, can be a decent human being and an _idiot_ at the same time,” Felicity huffs. She nudges him in the thigh, ignoring his protest. “Take a compliment like a normal person.”

“Did you see that?” Oliver asks Tommy and Barry. “She just _kicked_ me. I never agreed to domestic abuse.”

“Both of you shut up.” Barry says with a sigh. “I’m beginning to think all this time you’re spending together is rubbing off on each other.”

“We are _nothing_ alike!” Both Oliver and Felicity say simultaneously. They then glare at each other, throwing themselves back against the couch with a huff.

“This charity event is about the Starlight Children’s Foundation. I refuse to go there and make it about the chick I’m currently fucking. No offence.”

“Offence taken,” Felicity snaps. “Besides the whole point of this charade is to show that you’re more than just _fucking_ some girl. If he doesn’t know how to be civil in my own house, how do you expect him to behave around _actual_ people? I’m not taking him to my art gala.”

“I don’t _want_ to go to your snooty art gaga thing anyway.”

“ _Gala_.” Felicity corrects.

“Whatever.”

“Well, you need to go to one of those _together_. Choose now.” Barry says sternly, looking at them expectantly.

Felicity sighs, not knowing what the lesser of the evils are when Oliver looks across at her, “Rock, Paper, Scissors?”

Both Tommy and Barry begin to protest, but Felicity sits up and holds out her hand to Oliver, “Deal. But its rock, paper and scissors _only_. No nuclear bomb, or any other nonsense you want to use.”

“Well, you’re no fun,” Oliver says with an overdramatic pout.

Felicity just shakes her head in amusement, narrowing her eyes playfully at him as Barry pipes up in confusion “I don’t understand, so if Oliver wins then…”

“He gets his charity event to himself and he comes to the gala. It’s the lesser of two evils for him anyway.” Felicity explains. “If I win, I get to go the my event in peace and then have to listen to him whine about me tagging along to his charity event. He just doesn’t want me to see him with all the kids. They probably all love him and it would ruin his image.”

Tommy laughs wholeheartedly at that while Oliver’s ears turn pink, much to Felicity’s amusement. Oliver grunts, holding out his hand, “Let’s just get on with this, little miss smarty pants.”

“Do you have to get back to Katie?” Felicity retorts.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” 

“She knows about Katie?” Tommy asks his eyes wide in surprise. Felicity frowns, not expecting that kind of reaction from her mentioning Oliver’s mysterious woman.

“She knows nothing,” Oliver says with a huff. “Other than, it is none of her business.”

“Who the hell is Katie?” Barry asks, jumping into the conversation.

“Oliver’s girlfriend,” Felicity says offhandedly. She watches Tommy closely, hoping to get something off of him, but the other man is only watching _Oliver_ closely with an unreadable expression.

“ _Excuse_ me?” Barry screeches, “When we agreed to this arrangement you said he was single. I won’t have my client look like a complete and utter fool in front of the media. This exposure is supposed to _benefit_ her.”

“Oh don’t get your panties in a bunch, Allen.” Tommy says dismissively. “If you don’t know Katie, that means _no_ one knows Katie.You are the gossip guru after all, according to Jessica.”

“I'm dating a journalist, Iris and Jessica are the queens of gossip in that office. I just so _happen_ to hear their conversations.” Barry protests, his cheeks red. “You still didn’t answer my question. Who is Katie?”

“Katie does not concern either of you,” Oliver says sternly. “That’s _my_ business, and neither of you have to worry about that affecting this thing Felicity and I have going on. I’ve told her that a _million_ times.”

“She’s not your wife, is she?” Felicity asks, probing yet again.

Oliver’s entire body tenses at her question, his eyes blazing. When he speaks, his voice is hard and void of any emotion, “I don’t have a wife. Can we just get this shit over with? I have better things to do than have you stick your nose in my business.”

“Sorry,” Felicity apologizes, recognizing immediately that she crossed a line, “Let’s get done with this. I have vocal lessons to prepare for.”

Oliver holds out his hand, which is clenched into a fist. He is still tense, her apology seeming to fall on deaf ears, “Rock. Paper. Scissors. On the count of three.”

Felicity nods as she holds up her own hand, “One. Two. Three.”

Oliver groans when he lays his palm out flat, and Felicity has her two fingers held out mimicking scissors. She looks at him with a tentative grin and starts pretending to cut his palm with her fingers, “It’s no fun winning when you’re upset with me. I am sorry, I should have never pushed you.”

Oliver chuckles lightly and then takes his free hand engulfing both their hands, his other palm still caught between her fingers, “ _Bam_! Eternal flame, I just melted your sorry excuse for a scissors. I win.”

Felicity giggles at that, as Oliver’s fingers graze against her skin lightly, “You cheat.”

“Not a nuclear bomb,” Oliver points out with a grin. He then squeezes her finger lightly, before he pulls back both his hands and looks at Barry, pointedly ignoring Tommy who is trying to hide his smirk, “She’ll come to the charity event. She needs to be there an hour before it starts.”

“You are going there together, Oliver.” Tommy calls out, “The whole point of her going is for the red carpet.”

“Whatever, I really got to go,” Oliver says as he gets to his feet. He grabs one of the throw pillows, tossing it onto Felicity’s lap, “You should fire your interior designer. That thing is so ugly I wouldn’t even wipe my ass with it.”

Felicity scowls, kicking him in the back of the leg before he walks away. When he turns back to look at her, she grins sheepishly, “Whoops, must have slipped.”

But to her surprise Oliver just laughs with a shake of his head as he and Tommy bids she and Barry goodbye before leaving. She doesn’t know what’s happening with her and Oliver, but she can sense something is changing, and she’s still not sure if it’s a good thing or not.

A few seconds later her phone chimes and she looks down to see ‘Prat’ flash across the screen - the initial nickname she had for Oliver’s number - Something she will have to change soon.

_Wear something hot, or I’m leaving you in the car._

Maybe not. 

Felicity scowls about to type back a furious reply when her phone vibrates in her hand again.

_Just let me know what colour so we can match, or whatever._

_I’m not going to wear a pink shirt Felicity. So don’t even think about it._

Felicity giggles at that, quickly typing back a response.

**_But I really think pink is your colour._ **

_If I wear a pink shirt, I need to see what colour your underwear is._

Felicity smirks evilly at his text. Oliver always thinks he has an upper hand in these conversations, when will he ever learn?

**_Who says I can wear underwear with the dress I had in mind?_ **

_Fuck, seriously?_

**_No, you idiot. It’s a children’s charity event. I’m dressing appropriately. I will text you to let you know what colour my dress is, mindful to your aversion to pink._ **

_Thank you, that’s all I ask. Orange is out as well._

**_Who in their right mind will wear an orange dress to a red carpet event?_ **

_I don’t know. You wear a lot of orange._

**_Those were my workout clothes, Oliver._ **

_Oh._

Felicity giggles again, about to reply when Barry clears his throat, “Who are you giggling with?”

“Caitlin.” Felicity lies easily, “We are finalizing our plans for Thursday and she’s telling me about her date she went on last week.”

“Oh, let her know I can come.” Barry offers. Their impromptu get togethers happening since Caitlin was in medical school and Felicity was new to the city. “Iris has to babysit her goddaughter and her friend, I don’t need to be cooped up with her and the kids. She really is a gem, that one. The kid is a terror.”

Felicity rolls her eyes. “I still can’t believe you only met her pseudo niece once. You really need to stop with this aversion to kids.”

“She knows that I don’t like them,” Barry brushes off easily.

“Yes, but one day she’s going to want one of her own,” Felicity points out, sighing when Barry gets to his feet, pointedly ignoring her. “Barry.”

“It’s not an issue now, is it?” Barry asks.

“No, but one day it will be,” Felicity says calmly. “And I hope your ready to really consider the possibility or else you’re going to lose her.”

As expected, Barry walks out of the room after her statement, not wanting to hear what Felicity has to say. Felicity sighs, but then looks down at her phone that vibrates in her hand. She laughs when she sees it’s Oliver, naming more things he doesn’t want her to wear. The thing is, she knows that he’s only doing that to see if she gets upset.

* * *

 

Felicity sighs softly as the water rushes over her feet, her toes just barely submerged in the water. The sun is blazing down on her, her skin now gaining a slight red tinge as she lies on one of the water floats.

“So are we going to address the elephant in the room?” Marie, pipes up from her spot on the lounge chair a few feet away. Marie is a fellow actor and she and Felicity met on the set of Frozen.

Caitlin, Felicity’s best friend and roommate is currently hanging onto the edge of the pool looking at her curiously, while Felicity barely lifts her eyelids to look at their friend. Caitlin is a medical doctor, she and Felicity met five years ago when they both worked at a coffee shop, Caitlin picking up a few ships to help pay of medical school and Felicity was just looking for a job. Caitlyn had an extra room in her apartment, they have been best friends ever since.

Felicity knows Marie will explain herself anyway, so she doesn’t need to ask. When no one speaks, though, Felicity frowns and opens her eyes. She jumps when she sees both of her friends staring at her.

“What?” Felicity asks confused, not understand their expectant expressions.

“Seriously?” Marie says, waving a magazine in the air. She slides up her sunglasses, the yellow frames a huge contrast against her dark skin. “You are really going to pretend like _this_ didn’t happen?”

Felicity slips off the float, swimming to the edge of the pool to see what Marie is going on about when she sees a picture of her and Oliver in middle of the busy streets of Starling City. His hand is on her ass and from the angle of the picture it looks like they are making out, which they definitely were _not_. She gasps in shock, she did not get _this_ notification on her RSS feed.

“You are currently shacking up with one of America’s top bachelors and you failed to tell us?” Marie asks scandalize, “ ‘Oliver Queen, the Seahawks star quarterback was seen with Broadway starlet Felicity Smoak(Frozen, Mary Poppins) on multiple occasions. The two were canoodling outside a small little café and only had eyes for each other. Over the last few months, Queen has been seen with numerous women (previously having always opt to going solo). Has the famous quarterback finally found his very own leading lady? This is not the first time the two of you have been seen together over the past month. Has Queen finally found his own princess? Women all around America are weeping. Except Felicity Smoak, that is.’”

“That sounds so cheesy,” Felicity says with a groan, “I could write a better article than that. Although I do like the writer for going against stereotypes with the princess comment.”

_“That_ is what you’re focusing on?” Marie asks incredulously. “You’re currently sexing up one of the hottest men in sports and _that’s_ what you’re focusing on? Felicity, he is grabbing your ass in this picture. His hand looks like it can hold your entire ass cheek.”

“You can’t tell that from there!” Felicity protests as she yanks the magazine away, not caring that she is soaking it, “My dress was too loose fitting anyway.”

“Felicity!” Caitlin calls out splashing Felicity and an unsuspected Marie, who immediately retreats back to her lounging chair with her magazine. “Are you dating Oliver Queen?”

“Of course she’s dating him,” Marie says in exasperation, waving the magazine again. Her curly brown locks bouncing with the shake of her head. “He has his hand on her ass and looks very well acquainted with it.”

“Marie!” Felicity gasps, scandalized as the other two girls giggle.

“He looks like he’s very good with hands.” Marie says suggestively, “I mean football is a very hands-on kind of game. Is he like that…you know in bed?”

“Does he have a large penis?” Ellie pipes up, almost as if she’s asking for the time. The small brunette was lying quietly in a nearby lounge and they all assumed she had fallen asleep, clearly not. Her lack of brain-to-mouth filter rivalling that of Felicity’s but Felicity knows _she_ at least has _tact_. Felicity is pretty sure that Ellie just lacks the normal social cues. “He seems to look like he would have a big penis.”

“Ellie!” Felicity all but screeches as Marie falls out of her chair from laughing so much while Caitlin looks at Felicity eagerly.

“All of you are disgusting,” Felicity says with a huff, but when all three of her friends continue to look at her, she sighs in defeat. “Well, let’s just say what they say about men and their hands, is true. He really fills out his pants and that’s not cause of camera angles.”

Felicity’s cheeks redden as she realizes she’s said too much, she wanted to get them off her back, not encourage them. All three women giggle and Caitlin looks at her enviously. A look Felicity doesn’t even want to begin to interpret, “Back to my original question, is he as rough as he seems on TV?All those football players look so intimidating and kind of scary. Is he like that with you, or is he like a complete gentleman?”

Felicity snorts involuntarily at Caitlin’s probing question. The idea of Oliver being a gentleman amuses Felicity more than anything. But her friends take that to mean something else entirely and Marie gasps, her eyes wide with scandal, “Who are you and what have you done with Felicity Smoak? I never thought you would be into the kinky stuff.”

“I never said that!” Felicity protests, her cheeks flaming. She doesn’t want her little white lie about Oliver to turn into something like this, “I simply answered Ellie’s inquiry. Which in hindsight, I should have never answered in the first place.”

“C’mon Felicity!” Caitlin protests. “You can’t give us _that_ and not tell us more. We _need_ details.”

“I hardly think you _need_ details,” Felicity says with a roll of her eyes, avoiding the question. Something, all of her friends pick up on because Caitlyn then splashes her with water.

“What’s going on?” Barry calls out as he walking onto the patio a beer in his hand.

“Felicity’s kinky sex with the star quarterback.” Marie quips, grinning at the glare Felicity sends her.

“He has a very large penis.” Ellie says matter-of-factly.

“Oh God,” Felicity says with a groan as Barry looks at her with slight disgust, but then his eyes widen slightly at the implications of Ellie’s words.

“ _Really_ now?” Barry asks feigning surprise, his eyes twinkling as he looks at Felicity. “I wasn’t aware that Felicity was so well acquainted with that part of Oliver’s anatomy.”

Felicity glares at him, all too aware of the double meaning behind his words, but Caitlin jumps in before Felicity can speak. “You don’t date that hot piece of male specimen and _not_ sex him up. That would be a crime, Barry.”

Barry blanches at her words, “This is why I should never join the four of you for these girl’s days. A guy just does not need to know about another guys junk.”

“The lengths you go to avoid the minions.” Felicity teases, hoping to get the girl’s on Barry’s case for his kid problems.

“ _Hello_? Don’t change the topic!” Caitlin chimes in, splashing Felicity in the face with pool water, “Just cause Barry is here doesn’t mean we’re going to stop talking about Felicity sexing up one of America’s hottest football players.”

“Exactly!” Marie chimes in. She grins evilly, “From Felicity’s red face, I think she is being _thoroughly_ sexed _.”_

_“_ Okay!” Felicity says, splashing everyone around her including filling Barry’s drink completely with pool water. “This is no longer a discussion.”

She pointedly ignores Caitlin’s quip about Felicity never denying any of their inquiries. She just knows that if Oliver hears this, he will _never_ let her forget it. It’s bad enough she almost inadvertently makes a sexual innuendo at the man, a few times, he doesn’t know that she’s not only thought about the size of his junk, but told her _friends_ about it as well.

* * *

 

“Can’t we just wing it?” Oliver groans in protest as he plops onto Felicity’s couch. “Do we _really_ need to discuss this beforehand?”

“If you knew how to behave like a civilized human being, we wouldn’t be here.” Felicity retorts. “We don’t need you grabbing my ass on the red carpet, and it seems like you need these things in writing in order to abide by them. Otherwise I’m afraid you would just have your way with me… _it._ I meant it.”

Oliver grins widely at her faux pas, Felicity’s cheeks pinking up, she’s been so proud of herself for _thinking_ before she speaks but sometimes she gets worked up and the words coming out of her mouth just doesn’t match up from her brain. Oliver enjoys it way too much for her liking. She grabs her list and pushes it into his face, getting back to the point at hand.

“Not _another_ list.” Oliver groans, going to grab the piece of paper in Felicity’s hand but she is too quick and scoots back onto the opposite side of the couch.

“It’s not that kind of list.” Felicity insists, when Oliver gives her a look of disbelief. “It’s just a list of questions they may ask us.”

“I’m not doing the press with you,” Oliver says immediately. “I’ll do the red carpet thing, but the press is about the charity and…”

“I’m not doing that with you either,” Felicity promises. “I lied and told Barry we will, but this thing is about your charity for the kids. I refuse to take away from that.”

She smiles when Oliver abruptly stops, a thoughtful look on his face, “I am not the wicked witch of the East like you seem to think. I do understand how important these things are to you. Given the fact you have _always_ gone solo or taken your Mom speaks for itself.”

“You _really_ do your research, don’t you?” Oliver asks dryly. 

The barest hint of red in his cheeks are the only indication that she’s made him slightly uncomfortable, but naturally Oliver goes on the offence when she tries to pay him a compliment.Felicity simply rolls her eyes, “Well, one of us has to do it. Can we just get on with this?”

“What’s the rush? Do you have a hot date?” Oliver teases.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Felicity retorts angrily, not bothering to point out the only date she has is with her Netflix account.

To her utter surprise, Oliver’s entire body stiffens and he grabs the piece of paper out of her hand, his voice hard, “Well, we don’t want to keep your date waiting.”

She’s about to correct him, but doesn’t even have a moment to say anything because Oliver immediately starts reading from her list with a frown on his face, “What is my idea of a date night? Really? There are enough pictures of us to see that we are dinner and a movie kind of people. Why would they even ask this?”

“It’s because they can’t ask the really personal ones so they start off small and then go into asking you how I am,” Felicity informs him. She momentarily forgets Oliver’s strange attitude to focus on the discussion at hand.

“There are kids fighting for their lives. This is why we started this charity in the first place and _this_ is the bullshit they want to ask me?” Oliver says looking down at the list. “Why do people even care _this_ much? Can’t I just say I’m happy and leave it at that?”

“Well, if we were in an actual relationship, sure.” Felicity says slowly, “But the whole point of this is to get people to talk. Give our name some buzz without creating a scandal.”

“So, no sex on the balcony of some hotel then?” Oliver teases.

Felicity rolls her eyes, clearly whatever was bothering Oliver before has been forgotten, “Sorry to disappoint you. I’m sure you are well acquainted with your hand, anyway.”

“ _Oh ho_ ,” Oliver says his eyes twinkling with merit much to Felicity’s surprise. 

She thought that little remark would shut him up. But by the way that Oliver is looking at her and the smirk gracing his features, she knows he’s anything but annoyed. She feels her heart race against her will when he leans towards her. The smell of his aftershave invading her senses, a smell she’s gotten all too accustomed to in the last month or so. She ensures her expression is stoic as he smirks at her, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Are you jealous of my hand, Ms. Smoak?” 

“You wish,” Felicity retorts lamely. Oliver laughs wholeheartedly, even he knows that was a poor excuse of a comeback for her.

He simply continues to grin as he reads from the list again, “I feel like these questions were written by an overprotective father. ‘Are wedding bells in the future?’ _Seriously?_ This is them basically asking what are my intentions. This thing is the first time we are announcing we are together. What the fuck is wrong with these people? This is why I don’t do this shit.”

“Okay, relax,” Felicity says, taking the list from him. “Don’t wait for them to start probing. _You_ make the first move. When they ask you how you have been, make a general statement about us and then _you_ lead the conversation to your charity.”

“Have you been interrogated before or something?” Oliver asks, completely missing the uncomfortable look Felicity gets because he’s still skimming the list.

“I’ve seen Barry coach his clients on this a million times,” Felicity says easily, shifting on the couch as she watches Oliver closely.

“And you took notes, right?” Oliver teases. He laughs when she nudges him with her foot.

“So, do I say we’re soulmates? I can’t imagine life before you?” Oliver asks dryly.

“No, you idiot.” Felicity snaps. “There is cheesy and then there is just going overboard. Just say something generally _nice_ about me and that you’re happy. Try and find some truth to what you’re saying. It’s more believable that way. Think of Katie.”

Oliver freezes at her words, but then looks at her closely, “You don’t know Katie.”

“I don’t, but I have seen how you light up when she is mentioned. Before you get defensive and stupid, whoever she is, she is clearly important to you. Think of her then.”

“You surprise me,” Oliver says softly, his expression slightly unreadable.

“What?” Felicity asks in surprise, not expecting him to say that.

“Nothing. I’m beginning to realize my initial impression of you is completely off the mark,” Oliver says truthfully.

Felicity’s heart skips a beat at his words as she licks her lips nervously, “Is that a good thing?”

Oliver opens his mouth, about to reply, but his phone suddenly chirps loudly, breaking the moment. They both look down at the phone that is lighting up as it rings. Felicity smiles softly, “Katie?”

“Yea,” Oliver says. 

He presses a button, silencing the phone and pauses to look at Felicity closely. Felicity’s breath hitches as she waits for him to speak, but instead he slips off the couch shaking his head as he tugs the list from her hands, “I’ll read this some more and text you if I have any questions.”

Felicity nods silently as he gathers his things.She waves at him as he leaves, hating the fact that part of her feels disappointed at the interruption. She’s not sure what just happened, but part of her wants to know and she’s not sure how to feel about that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the enthusiasm for this story, especially people trying to figure out their secrets its fun to see who is on point and who is totally off the mark. I am enjoying diving into these characters greatly :)
> 
> Apparently Starling City is on the West Coast? I was always under the impression it was on the East. For the purposes of this fic it's located in New York. More specifically close enough to Manhattan to make geographical sense. Fictional cities make things so complicated lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos :). Loving all the theories and I'm not surprised that many of you are somewhat on the right tract, for one of them at least ;), some theories though had me giggling. 
> 
> Originally the charity event was suppose to be one chapter, but 5k words in and the event had yet to start, thus it got split into two. This begin to change for our favourite duo and a little bit more of Oliver's past is revealed.

“Felicity!” Oliver calls out for the fifth time, throwing his phone onto the couch in frustration, at this rate he’s going to have to have to charge the thing, yet again.

He arrived at her house on time - that is an hour before they are schedule to leave - but so far it’s been _two_ hours and he’s _still_ waiting on her. He doesn’t understand what’s taking so long in the first place, he knows for a fact that she started to get ready three hours _before_ he arrived.

“If you had just _listened_ to me when I told you to _wait_ till I called, there would not be a problem in the first place!” Felicity yells, her voice echoing down the narrow hallway.

“I thought you would be happy that I was on time for once?” Oliver quips back, “You’re always bitching about my lack of respect of time.”

“I _bitch_ when you are almost _two_ hours late for a _movie_ date. The movie was already finished by the time you arrived.”

“Hey now, I took you for ice cream instead and we got some good pictures out of those.” Oliver points out grinning at the memory.

“I’ll give you that.” Comes the dry remark, making Oliver grin.

He and Felicity got bored of their pictures being taken all the time, so they decided to turn it into a bit of a game, and with anything they do, it turned into a completion, in which both of them try to out do the other with new ways to get their picture taken. At the time Oliver suggested he fed her the ice cream, but Felicity had a better idea and Oliver ended up with a face full of ice cream. Luckily, they were at the park and therefore did not risk getting kicked out of any establishment, but Oliver did have to spend the remainder of the night walking around with a large chocolate stain on his crisp white shirt.

“You know, you never told me how that gala thing went earlier this week.” Oliver calls out, curious if their relationship was brought up at all by the press.

He for one does not follow the media, preferring to remain oblivious, unless someone - most recently Felicity - points it out to him.

“Boring, nothing to talk about.” Felicity says quickly, too quickly, but Oliver lets it slide knowing he would get more out of her when he sees her.

Felicity surprises him, to say the least, every time he thinks he’s got her figured out she does something that takes him by surprise, and for the most part it’s not a _bad_ thing. Don’t get him wrong, she still frustrates the living daylights out of him, but somewhere along the line she got under his skin and now the things that use to annoy him about her, just amuses him more than anything. He particularly enjoys when she gets flustered and her mouth just runs away with her. It’s something he did not pick up on until they were both comfortable with each other.

He actually finds himself craving her company now, and on many occasions he’s had to stop himself from calling her, just to see what she was up to, because that is just _not_ the kind of relationship they have. This is a business deal and that is all there is to it, they aren’t friends and they certainly aren’t dating. Oliver wonders if he repeats this to himself enough times; that he will finally start to believe it.

Oliver eyes the TV remote next to him and quickly puts on the TV hoping it will preoccupy the dangerous thoughts currently running around in his mind. To his slight annoyance an image of Felicity appears on the screen, the channel having already been set to some entertainment program. He’s about to turn it off, when the speaker announces Felicity’s latest relationship entanglement and a picture of the two of them walking through the park, hand in hand, flashes before him. 

The screen quickly switches back to the gala that Felicity attended earlier in the week. She has her long blond hair swept up to the side and slightly curled, her lips are the darkest shade of red Oliver has ever seen and he finds himself licking his own lips as he watches, not really listening to the announcer talk about the gala. He is too mesmerized by the way Felicity’s hands are moving as she talks, those red lips pulling him, despite the fact that the interview has yet to start.

He leans back against the couch, getting comfortable, eyes widening slightly when a full shot of Felicity’s dress comes on screen. She’s wearing a slim fitted black dress that stops mid calf, a small slit that reaches to her knees, the straps of her dress are thick and just barely grazes her shoulder, leaving her collarbone gloriously bare. The sudden urge to _taste_ that collarbone takes Oliver by such a surprise, the remote slips from his hand and lands on his foot with a clang, immediately pulling him away from his treacherous thoughts. His ears perk up when Felicity’s interview finally begins to play, she’s smiling widely as she speaks about the various art exhibits and what she loves the most about it. He laughs slightly, knowing for a fact that she had to Google every single one of those painters the day before, she was frantic when she lost one of her cue cards.

To his surprise though, the reporter switches the conversation from the art gala, to Felicity’s relationship with _him_. He sits up in alert at that, Felicity had not mentioned this, and he can tell by her deer-in-the-headlight expression that she’s surprised by the question as well. Oliver holds his breath, knowing it’s not going to go well, especially if Felicity has to go on the fly with her answer.

_“So, Oliver Queen. It seems like the two you have gotten close lately?”_

_“Yes.”_

Felicity says this with a nod, butOliver leans forward in his seat eagerly waiting for her continue, he just knows she’s not a one-word kind of girl _._

_“He’s a lovely person. We have fun together.”_

_“Lovely isn’t a word I’d describe Oliver Queen, but I can see how fun would be right up his alley. Tell me, is Oliver Queen is as sexy as he seems?”_

Oliver smirks at the way Felicity’s red cheeks and the way she raises her hand to brush her fingers along her collarbone, a nervous tick of hers that he’s noticed.

_“I’m surprised I can get anything done.”_

Felicity follows this with a laugh and Oliver’s eyes widen in surprise at the innuendo and he grins when Felicity finally catches onto her own words and quickly tries to rectify the situation.

_“I’m not saying that all we do is have sex…No! I mean we enjoy spending time together. He’s a great guy. A wonderful boyfriend.”_

Oliver laughs as she trips over her words, her ears turning redder by the second and watches as Barry’s assistant, thanks the report and escorts Felicity away from the press. Felicity waves sheepishly, a wide smile on her face; that Oliver just knows is a fake.

“Oliver?” Felicity calls out from the hallways, “Please tell me you did not leave.”

“Nope, still here.” Olive answers with a smile, as he turns around to the sound of her voice, “Your ever _wonderful_ boyfriend that… _oh_!”

“Oh frack, you saw the interview. I was hoping to tell you at the last possible…”

Felicity is hurrying down the hallway, nude pumps in one hand as the other one holds the end of her dress. She’s dressed in an ice blue, floor length dress that flares at her hips, the bodice is glittering under the lights of her living room and her hair is braided and gathered to the side, the tips of the braid gracing her bare shoulders. Oliver looks at her with wide surprise eyes. Felicity bites her lip looking at him in confusion, “What?”

Oliver shakes his head slightly and looks at her curiously, he tilts his head to the side and taking in Felicity’s braid and then the dress, “Am I dating _Elsa_?”

Felicity looks at him in surprise as she makes her way to the couch, “You know who Elsa is?”

“Of course I know who Elsa is, I don’t live under a rock.” Oliver says defensively, “Look I know you played her on Broadway –yes I did my research – but why are you dressed like that? The kids are going to flip their shit when they see you… _oh_. That’s kind of brilliant.”

Felicity laughs at his words, he watches as she flips back the numerous layers of her dress so that she can slip her ridiculously tiny feet into her heels. How has he never noticed how small her feet are? It’s just adorable. He shakes his head not knowing where _that_ particular thought came from and focuses back on her words.

“I wish I could take the credit, but the chairman of the foundation heard that I was your plus one and contacted your publicist, _Janine_ –who is a very nice lady, I don’t know why you don’t converse with the woman more - not that Tommy isn’t… _Right._ Janine then called Barry and apparentlythe chairman’s granddaughter is a huge fan of Frozen.”

“What five year old girl, isn’t?” Oliver quips with a knowing smile, but at Felicity’s curious expression, he quickly looks away. “So, he asked for you to do the dress thing and take pictures with the kids there?”

“You’re not okay with this, I knew I should have run it by you before I agreed to it.”  Felicity bites her lips nervously, fingers wringing over her dress, a clear sign of her nervousness, “We agreed I wouldn’t take away from the charity and…”

“Hey. Hey.” Oliver calls out softly. He places his hand over her much smaller one and squeezes it reassuringly, “It’s fine. It’s a great idea actually, the kids usually hate these things, and you going there will make it suck less.”

“I see you’re channeling you inner five year old. I’m glad I’ll make it suck less.” She teases lightly.

Oliver falters at her word and he quickly pulls his hand away from hers, avoiding eye contact, there is no need for him to encourage her and initiate her probing. Felicity is just too curious for her own good and Oliver can’t take that chance. He grabs his jacket that he’d thrown on the back of the couch, quickly easing into it. When he turns around, he stops short at Felicity’s expression, he watches in amusement, as she seems to slowly take in his outfit, her eyes flicker back and forth to each of his suspenders. His mother’s insistence that he wear suspenders, ever since he was a child; seems to have finally benefit him.

“What?” Oliver asks curiously, hiding his own grin when her cheeks flush at being caught.

“We match.” She blurts out stupidly, her nose wrinkling at her remark.

“Isn’t that the whole point of you sending me a picture of not only the colour of your dress, but the _exact_ shade of blue I needed to get in the shirt?” Oliver asks dryly, eyes still twinkling with mischief, knowing fully well that his colour shirt was _not_ what had her attention. “I’m surprised you didn’t just buy the shirt for me.”

“I just don’t think we’re at that point in this relationship.” Felicity quips, her tone matching his own.

Oliver laughs at her comment, shaking his head in amusement. Always full of surprises that one. He then holds out is elbow to her, “Shall we, Ms. Smoak?”

“I think we shall, Mr. Queen.” Felicity says brightly, looping her arm through his. He pointedly ignores the way his skin tingles when her warm skin touches his own.

“You know, the kids are going to ask you why you don’t have your gloves.” Oliver teases.

Felicity tilts her head up so she can see him, now that she’s standing next to him, he realizes that her heels do not give her that much height, “You don’t just know whom Elsa is; you _know_ Elsa.”

Oliver grunts at her words, but at the twinkle in her eye and the bright smile he sighs in defeat, knowing she would not let this one go. “My kid sister, Thea, loved the movie and I was forced to watch it.”

“Oh, how old?” Felicity asks curiously as they make their way to the garage where Oliver’s driver is waiting for them.

“Eighteen.”

“She’s hardly a kid, Oliver.” Felicity says with a laugh, nodding in thanks when he opens the car door for her.

“She’ll always be my little sister.” Oliver says with a sheepish shrug.

“She probably hates that.” Felicity says thoughtfully. She then grins at Oliver teasingly, “I can relate…oh! I don’t mean that you are overprotective of me, ‘course not. I meant that your annoyance-ness I can relate too.”

“That’s not a word.”

“Bugger off.”

Oliver simply chuckles at her remark, all to you use to her odd way of speaking by now, “How big of a Harry Potter fan were you as a kid?”

“What?” Felicity asks in alarm, almost skidding off the seat of the car in surprise, “ _Oh_ , I may have been able to recite the Philosopher’s Stone by the time I was 12.”

Her quick response has Oliver pausing, but he doesn’t push it, knowing if the tables were turned he wouldn’t want her to push it either.

It’s not till they get to the event and were waiting their turn for the red carpet does Oliver decide to bring up Felicity’s interview again, “So are we nixing the _not_ talking about our sex life thing?”

“ _Oliver_.” Felicity hisses in horror, fake smile still plastered on her face, but her nails dig into his knuckles. Oliver hisses in pain, she has fucking claws. “Smile.”

“Retract the claws,” Oliver grumbles, but plasters a smile on his face nonetheless, “I’m just saying, if _you_ can talk about our sex life, I could assume the rules have changed.”

“I messed up, okay?” Felicity grumbles, releasing her hold on his hand to snake her arm around his waist as they step out in front of the large group of cameras. She places her head gently on his shoulder and smiles warmly at their small audience, “Just don’t encourage it, _please_.”

Oliver can hear the pleading in her tone and he doesn’t have the heart to tease her further. It’s not he was going to mention their non existent sex life, he just enjoys teasing her, its so easy to ruffle her feathers. He knows though, that this is important to her and she would never have answered like that, had she been aware the reports were going to ask her those questions.

He can still feel her tense at his side and knows he needs to find a way to reassure her, before they exist the carpet, he moves his hand to touch her cheek angling it up towards him gaining her attention immediately. The slight tilt of her head and the way her eyebrows wrinkle in confusion has him smiling warmly and not for the camera. He can tell the moment she understands, feels the way the tension leaves her body and the small corners of her mouth turn up, forming a genuine smile. Without really thinking about it, he slowly lowers his mouth to her forehead and pulls back just as quickly, suddenly catching himself. He is about to turn away from her, usher them off of the red carpet, and away from the spotlight, when the small crowd of flashing bulbs starts chanting loudly.

“Kiss!”

Oliver looks down at Felicity questioningly, she quirks her eyebrows in response, equally as curious, that small tilt of her head and the way she smiles shyly at him, suddenly makes the decision easy for him. He slowly lowers his lips onto hers, just brushing it lightly, and for that brief moment he forgets about the millions of flashbulbs going off around them or the loud buzzing of voices.

For that brief moment, all he sees is her.

As soon as the moment starts, it ends just as quickly, Felicity is looking at Oliver with wide curious eyes, but Oliver looks away, unable to look at her, allowing his publicist to guide him towards the press line. Felicity in the meanwhile is being ushered into the hotel by young woman with a clipboard. Just before he gets in line, Oliver feels a prickling at the back of his neck, almost as though he’s being watched, he looks over his shoulder, and sure enough Felicity is still looking straight at him, her blue eyes boring into him, a million questions running across her face. He looks away quickly, unable to give her the answers she needs, not when he himself is unsure of what just happened.

It was just a kiss after all, an unplanned kiss for the cameras. Four weeks of doing this charade, countless ‘dates’ and not once have they kissed, sure there have been many times where they brushed their lips gently against the other cheek, but it was all for show. _This_ was all for show.

Before he can think about what the hell just happened, someone is calling out his name and Janine is ushering him to the first eager reporter. He tugs on the coattails of his jacket and steels himself, ready to face the masses, knowing there will be questions about his shoulder as always, as well as that blue eyes blonde that he can’t seem to get out of his mind.

“ _Mr. Queen, is it true that due to your shoulder injury, you will no longer be playing for the Seahawks?”_

It’s going to be a _long_ night.

* * *

 

He walks into the ballroom, hands in his pocket as he scans the room for his plus one. Janine is at his side, her nose stuck in her phone as always, but it takes him a while to realize that she’s actually speaking to him. “So just to confirm, you won’t be making any speeches. I also spoke to Ms. Smoak’s publicist; we decided the photo booth with the kids would be after the speeches and dinner. Mr. Queen, are you listening to me? _Oliver_!”

Oliver comes to halt at the use of his first name, glowering at the woman in question; she’s in her early 20s and his newly appointed publicist. Oliver is certain that he is her first client,  at the way she stutters when she realizes she used his first name, he suspects this one won’t last longer than the last one. Tommy has been telling him, to ease up on his publicist, but after the shit fest that was those interviews, he’s just about done with the media, including the woman who is suppose to control those things. He is so tired of every single person doubting that he would even be healed in time for the new season. He refuses to believe that his entire career has gone up in smoke because of this injury.

“Sorry, Mr. Queen.” She corrects, taking in a deep gulp of breath, “Felicity….Ms Smoak was specific that the photo shoot for the kids won’t take place till after dinner. She just asked to run it by you.”

“It’s fine.” Oliver grunts out. The tension eases out of him when he realizes that Felicity kept her word, and ensured that charity would not be about her or them, not that he doubted her, “Felicity is better at these things.”

Janine nods slowly, at her surprised look as Oliver kicking himself for taking out his frustration on her, “Thank you, Janine. Tomorrow, you’ll need to make an appointment with Mr. Merlyn. He needs to go through the questions sheet for reporters with you.”

He’s about to walk off, knowing that Janine isn’t required to stay for the benefit, but stops short and turns around to face her again, not missing her startled look of surprise, “Have a nice, night.”

He can practically hear the silent praise at his well-mannered greeting, and the voice in his head, sounds suspiciously like Felicity’s, which annoys him to no end. He makes his way over to his table; scowl still gracing his features; the residual anger from the interview, still flowing in his veins, adding to his already frayed nerves from the earlier red carpet kiss. He falters slightly, slowing his pace when he sees a little girl shyly walk up to his table, more specifically Felicity. She is no older than 6, dressed in periwinkle blue, brown hair braided to the side, and blue gloves gracing her hands. She shows Felicity her arms, gently touches Felicity’s braid and then her own. She smiles widely at whatever the blondes says and with a vigorous shake of her head, she spins around and heads back to her table.

“I see you have some admirers.” Oliver teases lightly, slipping into the vacant seat next to her.

Felicity grins sheepishly, she looks at him briefly for a moment, and Oliver wonder’s if she is going to bring up the kiss, but instead she focuses on his previous remark,“She wanted to inform me that we were twins, except with different hair colour, _and_ asked if I brought Anna with me.”

“At least she didn’t ask for Olaf.” Oliver quips in amusement. He realizes belatedly it was the wrong thing to say, when Felicity looks at him curiously, “Oh C’mon you gotta stop acting so surprised. I told you already, I’ve seen the movie.”

“I somehow doubt that your 18 year old sister, made you watch Frozen.” Felicity eyes narrow slightly, scrutinizing him. Oliver shifts uncomfortably in his seat, wondering briefly where she is going with this, but then Felicity huffs in exasperation, “Oliver, I know Tommy has a five year old daughter. I wouldn’t think any less of you if you spend time with her watching cartoons. If anything it makes me sure that this asshole persona you give off is just an act.”

“You get all that from me watching Frozen with my niece?” Oliver quips, trying to make it seem as if her words don’t affect him. Felicity though sees right through this and just rolls her eyes.

“Fine, be like that.” She grumbles, “I can’t speak to you when you’re being a prat.”  

Oliver sighs in defeat; he knows this night is going to be _much_ longer if Felicity isn’t speaking to him. Added to the fact that they are already getting looks from other people on the table, Oliver knows they have to at least act civilized, otherwise the entire point of this date would be for naught. He is about to apologize, when a familiar voice calls out to him, gaining both of their attention.

“Oliver, I didn’t realize you would be coming tonight.”

Oliver gets to his feet, tugging on the coattails of his jacket as he plasters a smile on his face, “Mom, it’s nice to see you too.”

“Yes, well when I didn’t get a call from you, I assumed you would were unable to make it.” Moira Queen says pleasantly, but Oliver can hear the hidden judgment in her tone, despite the equally fake smile on her face. She doesn’t even give Felicity a glance, instead focuses her gaze on Oliver, “Thea seemed to be under that impression as well. You know how much she loves these things.”

“I know but I already had a plus one in mind.” Oliver says with a tense smile. He places his hand on Felicity’s shoulder squeezing it gently, purposely bringing her to his mother’s attention, despite the fact that she’s sitting right next to him.

“So I see.” Moira quips, finally turning to look at Felicity, her eyes narrowing slightly at the younger woman, making Oliver’s blood boil.

“Felicity Smoak.” Felicity quickly gets to her feet and stretches out her hand to Moira, who takes it albeit reluctantly, much to Oliver’s annoyance.“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Queen…. Mrs. Steele? Or is it Queen-Steele? Oliver mentioned you remarried, but never if you changed your name. Why would he? It’s not like he would be calling you anything other than mom….well mother, if he wanted to be formal…”

Oliver places his hand gently on Felicity’s forearm and she immediately falters, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Queen is fine, she kept her name.”

Moira looks at Felicity all of two seconds before turning her focus back to Oliver, “I wasn’t aware you were bringing dates to these things now. If you’re trying to make some kind of statement; I’m pretty sure all those parade of women on the cover of entertainment magazines has done enough, but to bring one _here_ …”

“ _Mom_.” Oliver cuts her off with a warning. He slips his fingers through Felicity’s tugging her to his side, hoping she will play along, “Felicity is my girlfriend.”

“Yup.” Felicity pipes up, with a bright smile. “Not some floozie he picked up at bar…not that anything is _wrong_ with that. I’m just not a bar hopping kind of girl…and you didn’t need to know that.”

“No. I really didn’t, dear.” Moira says dryly.

“Can I speak to you, _outside_?” Oliver snaps, already stepping away from the table, knowing his mother will follow him. He sends Felicity an apologetic over his shoulder, his anger towards his mother rising when he sees the affronted look on Felicity’s face.

“Well that one certainly is _different_.” Moira remarks, the judgment clear by her tone.

“Mom, don’t start.” Oliver looking up and down the hallway to ensure that they are in fact alone.

“When I heard that you were bringing someone, I thought for sure you had finally come to your senses.” Moira shakes her head in disappointment, “How wrong I was. You do know this will not get you any points?”

Oliver rolls his eyes at her insinuation, “I’m not looking for _points_. This is a business event and has nothing to do with…”

“So you _haven’t_ changed your stance on that then?” Moira asks unnecessary, “Oliver, it’s been eight _years_ since Helena Bertinelli. Why do you still insist on letting this woman influence your life?”

“Are you forgetting the fact that she cost Dad his company?” Oliver snaps back at her, shoulders going rigid at the mere mention of that woman’s name, a name he wish he could forget. “’Cause I certainly can’t ignore the fact that the woman I was dating, used not only me but our relationship, _just_ to smoke Dad right out of his office?”

“Your father, bless his soul, was certainly not an _honest_ man. Helena’s actions may have been deceitful and almost _sinister_ , but it was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Even if she had not been in the picture, your father’s past would have caught up to him eventual. I just don’t want you to continue to blame yourself for _her_ actions and certainly not to take it out on your relationships.”

“I just prefer to keep things separate and never have that part of my life affect _this_ part of my life.” Oliver says stubbornly. It’s an argument they’ve been having for years, and they are both too stubborn to concede.

“You are not two different people, Oliver.” Moira says in exasperation, but on Oliver’s impassive expression she sighs, “Alright, I know by now when not to push.”

“Of that I am doubtful.” Oliver remarks, just a hint of a smile. He knows his mother means well and she is just looking out for him, but their similar personalities have always led to them bumming heads over the years.

“Right, well _floozie_ or not, I expect to see you at dinner on Sunday.” Moira says pointedly, leaving no room for argument.

“Don’t call her that,” Oliver says tersely, his jaw tensing. His actions seeming to surprise his mother, “Her name is Felicity.”

“You actually care for this girl.” Moira says in astonishment. Her eyes bore into Oliver, making him feel like he’s 10 years old again and about to be questioned on whether or not he and Tommy buried his mother’s jewelry in the backyard. “I was under the assumption that this entire thing was for _show_. Tommy wanting to add layers to this stoic football player you insist on adopting.”

“Just don’t call her a floozie.” Oliver repeats, neither confirming nor denying his mother’s insinuation, which his mother seems to make her own interpretations.

“Okay.” Moira agrees easily, no further probing much to Oliver’s confusion and relief, “I want to warn you… There is no need to roll your eyes at me, young man. I was referring to Thea, she’s bringing a _date_ on Sunday.”

Oliver’s forehead crinkles at her words, “What boy?”

“I don’t know, but _you_ will not harass your sister about this.” She gives him a stern look, “I’m simply giving you a fair warning so you don’t cause a scene.”

“That was _one_ time, and that _vermin_ had his hands all over her.” Oliver grumbles, shuttering slightly at that unfortunate incident.

“Oliver, they were simply kissing. It’s what teenagers do.” Moira shakes her head, more amused at Oliver than anything. She pats his cheek warmly, “I’ll see you on Sunday.”

She then looks over Oliver’s shoulder as something catches her eye, “It’s a shame really, they would have probably gotten along.”

He turns around, just in time to see Felicity now has a small little audience of kids who are chatting with her in excitement. Oliver shakes his head, pointedly ignoring his mother’s insinuation, no matter how true they may be. He’s about to respond, but his mother has already disappeared into the array of people.

He quickly makes his way back to their table, smiling warmly at their tiny guests, who are now looking up at him with wide eyes. The tiniest of the bunch, a small round face little girl with deep brown eyes, and a head full of curls, looks at Oliver curiously, “Are you, Kristoff?”

“No stupid. Kristoff is _Anna’s_ boyfriend, not Elsa’s.” A snarky voice chimes in.

“Hey, hey!” Oliver looks across at the source of the voice, a tall lanky boy in the back of the small crowd, pointing a stern finger at the boy in question, “No name calling.”

“He’s got hair on his face like Hans.” Another little girl adds.

“But Hans is _evil_.”

“They are not the _actual_ people.”

“Timmy! Leave the little kids alone.”

The oldest of the kids, who looks to be about 12 years old, is holding a toddler on her hip, but she nudges the little boy in question. She’s clearly more mature beyond her years, and a small part of Oliver feels dishearten at the fact that she had to grow up so quickly.  He knows instantly that this group of kids is from one of the orphanages that he funds.

“They are gonna find out anyway, when she can’t make _ice_ , Emma.” Timmy remarks.

“Okay, guys how about you head back to your table, dinner is about to serve.” Oliver says loudly, cutting off the argument immediately at his tone. “ _Elsa_ has a surprise for all of you, but you need to eat your dinner first.”

A small buzz of chatter breaks out at his statement, they can hear loud excited whispers about whether or not Felicity will be singing, if she is going to turn the whole place to _ice_ and the tiniest voice hopeful that Olaf would show up.

“Kids and their imaginations.” Oliver chuckles lightly as he slips into his chair, but he freezes on the look Felicity gives him, “What?”

“Are you some kind of kid whisperer?” Felicity asks almost scandalized, “I’d been trying to get them to calm down, for the past 10 minutes and you just gave them one look and they just _stopped_.”

Oliver shifts uncomfortably in his seat, tugging at his collar lightly, “I’m pretty sure it was just the promise of food.”

“Right.”

He knows she does not buy his excuse for a moment, her blue eyes still trained on him, scrutinizing him. He can practically hear the wheels turning in her mind, his heart racing unsure of what her next question would be, but he’s certain she has figured him out.  Just as she is about to open her mouth, the lights in the ballroom dim, a signal that the benefit is about to begin.

Oliver releases a small sigh of relief, his mother’s warning once again echoing in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, this chapter was much more difficult to write than anticipated, also finals are looming and usually that can affect updates either way. Thank you all for the kind reviews and kudos, this are about to get rough! :P

She stares at the plate in front of her poking the charred piece of octopus tentacle with apprehension, what is it with rich people and questionable food choices? She looks over at the kids’ table, eyeing their Alfredo pasta with mushrooms; they even have chicken fingers. She wonders briefly who she has to bribe to get a plate of that goodness.

“I’ll buy you a burger after this.” Oliver whispers softly, his hot breath tickling her ear.

Felicity bites her lip refraining from a declaration of love; for one thing just _no_ , and another thing Oliver does not need more ammo to tease her relentlessly, “Why do rich people eat such crap?”

She tilts her head towards him, hoping only he can overhead, but apparently she underestimated her own tone level, when the little old lady a few feet away, looks across at them sharply, great big beady frames glaring up at them. Both Felicity and Oliver stifle their laughter as they gingerly take a bite of their meals smiling widely at the older woman. The little old lady sees right through their antics and huffs with a shake of her head, before turning back to her meal.  

“Did we just piss off a little old lady?” Oliver whispers in amusement.

He’s leaning closer to her now, his hand on the back of her chair, his body angle towards her as he speaks in low tones.  Felicity is all too aware of his proximity, the feeling of his finger tips just brushing lightly against her bare shoulder, his hot breath against her cheek as he speaks softly. She knows he’s only leaning towards her so that they aren’t overhead. The little old lady seems to have put them on her shit list, cause she keeps looking over at them, glaring at them through her large rimmed glasses. Despite knowing all this, Felicity can’t help the way her heart speeds up at warmth of his breath on her cheek, making her think back to that unexpected kiss. The kiss she has yet to stop thinking about. The way his soft lips slanted against hers, and his fingers just barely grazed her chin as he moved to cup her cheek. She feels as though she barely had time to relish it before it was over. One thing is for sure; she _needs_ to know what it means.

She and Oliver have come to some silent agreement over the last three weeks; they have not kisses since they started this thing. Yes, they had some miscommunications the first date, she’s pretty sure Oliver did that _just_ to see if she would quit the whole thing before it started. Boy was _he_ wrong. Since then though, they’ve somehow kept things strictly platonic, but able to convince the media that they are in fact in love. After that kiss however, Felicity’s mind is conjuring up some things that’s certainly _not_ platonic in _any_ situation.

“ _Felicity_!”

Felicity looks up startled, her fork clattering to her plate. The little old lady looks up sharply at the noise, and shakes her head in disapproval. Felicity rolls her eyes and looks across at Oliver who is looking at her with concern. He really needs to stop looking at her like that, because it does not help with the feelings bubbling up within her, feelings she refuses point blank to acknowledge.

“You’re playing with your food.” Felicity blurts out stupidly, her cheeks immediately flaming at her words, hand gesturing widely to her plate.

Oliver’s nose wrinkles in confusion; she can see that he’s slightly output by her outburst, so she quickly ploughs through, pointing at the makeshift face that is on Oliver’s plate. He used the uneaten tentacles as hair, olives for eyes and a carrot for a nose and then a string bean for the straight face smile. 

“It’s missing something.” Felicity says teasingly, she scoops up some of corn and strategically places them underneath the string bean, essentially giving the face buckteeth.

Oliver laughs wholeheartedly at that, his fingers dancing against her bare shoulder, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Luckily for Felicity, Oliver is none the wiser as he fishes his phone out of his suit jacket and to Felicity’s great astonishment he quickly snaps a picture of their ‘art work’.

 “Oliver Queen! Are you a closeted insta-photographer?” Felicity asks scandalized, her electric blue nails clipping lightly at his hand.

She tries to take his phone, but he moves it out of her grasp with ease. He slips the phone back in his pocket, but to her surprise he returns his hand to the table, his pinky finger loosely hooking into her own.

“I don’t know what that means.” Oliver says nose crinkling cutely in confusion. “I just liked how it looked.”

Felicity chuckles, patting his arm lightly, “It’s a social media lingo,”

“I thought you didn’t agree with social media?”

“Oh I don’t, it drives Barry up a wall,” Felicity replies easily. She abandons her meal, deciding she’ll have to wait till Oliver buys her the burger he promised. She takes a sip of her wine, hoping that the dinner rolls she had will soak it up. “I refuse to adhere to those stupid social rules, that technology brings. Don’t get me wrong, I _love_ technology; in another life I would have my own software company. What I don’t love about social media, is this notion that people think because they are hiding behind a computer they can say whatever they want to me, like its not a _person_ behind my twitter, instagram or whatever else there is out there. In my line of business people are _brutal_ and catty and just down right _evil_. There is a reason why the only roles I’ve gotten was some Disney princess of the other, people see me as _soft_. The scripts that land on my lap, well virtual lap, no one _mails_ these things anymore, fax maybe….”

“Felicity.”

Oliver calls out to her breaking her away from her tangent, she looks across at him with a sheepish grin. To her surprise, he’s not looking at her in annoyance like he usually does, instead he has his elbow on the table, chin resting in the palm of her hand as he smiles at her warmly. His body is still turned towards her, his free hand now making light circles along her knuckles, his voice slightly high pitched as he quotes her.

 “If people have something to say to me, they should say it to my face and not hide behind their computers.”

“I don’t sound like that!” She stutters out, more in surprise, than protest. She’s not sure how she feels about the fact that he clearly was listening to her all those times she’s gone off on a tyrant about social media.

“You may have mentioned it one or two times before.” He teases, clearly enjoying the fact that he took her by surprise.

“I’m surprised you even remembered what I said.” She says truthfully, but then she’s mentally kicking herself as Oliver’s face hardens slightly. Its like a switch was flicked and suddenly he’s that asshole she met the first time at the gym.

“You talk so much, something was bound to stick.” He comments dryly.

Felicity bites back a scowl, she sees the little old lady still watching them with her hawk eyes, and that’s when she realizes, that entire _display_ was all for show. Of _course_ it was; Oliver wasn’t _actually_ interested in her words, her _thoughts_. He was simply playing into these roles they have created. An uneasy feeling settles at the pit of her stomach as she thinks about the kiss, the way he lightly tipped her chin up to him, smiling down at her. She knows the picture they made, _knows_ that people would eat that stuff up. He was simply giving the audience what they wanted, from the moment they started chanting, asking for the kiss, he didn’t hesitate for a second before he kissed her and then as soon as it ended he let Janine walk him away, none the wiser.

She is such an _idiot_.

 She slips her hand out of his and picks up the small dinner roll in the plate, soaked with sauce from the charred octopus tail. She holds back a grimace as she bites into the tangy roll, the terrible sauce almost making her gag, turning her body to face her meal instead of Oliver.

“I’ll buy you that burger after,” Oliver continues almost as though their previous exchange didn’t even happen. He peers into her semi-empty plate, his hand resting on her bare shoulder, yet again “I think you ate enough so no one can think you’re being snooty.”

“It’s fine.” She says shortly. Oliver picks up on her shifted mood immediately, his warm hand leaves her skin and he turns his body back to his own plate and leans against his chair.

“Okay.”

They sit in silence for the remaining of the meal, their peanut gallery of one, has now multiplied to a group of three. It seems as though beady-eye old lady has two equally nosy friends, two little old ladies, one with vibrant blue hair and the other is a frail little thing that looks like a strong wind will knock her over. All three of the women are currently staring at them, blue hair has her glasses to the tip of nose and looks over them to pin Felicity with a look.

Felicity sighs softly, knowing that if she doesn’t talk to Oliver soon, one of these women are gong to make their situation even that more awkward. She tilts her head to side, but just as she’s about to open her mouth, Oliver gets to his feet. She looks at him startled, but he rests his hand gently on her shoulder and whispers softly, “Bathroom.”

She nods at his words, and then sighs deeply once he steps away from the table. She’s pretty sure Oliver hasn’t even made it out of the ballroom, before blue hair is leaning over the table and looking at Felicity with a knowing smile.

“You two kids need to kiss and make up.”

“We’re not fighting.” Felicity smiles politely at the nosey women. It’s taking all of her to not roll her eyes.

“Sugar, I was married for 40 years. If my Rupert looked half as good as your boy, I would have never let him leave the house.” Blue hair says with a suggestive grin, that makes Felicity’s cheeks red. “Hell, if I were 30 years young, I’d take him from you.”

That comment makes Felicity genuinely laugh in delight, she makes a mental note to leave Oliver with these ladies when he comes back, just to make him squirm.

“30 years ago? Pfft, honey if you don’t want him, I’ll take him off you hands right now.” To Felicity’s horrified surprise, the tiny frail old lady is look at her as she wiggles her white eyebrows

“Martha!” Beady eyes admonishes, her large bracelets clinkering as she points a finger at her friend.

“What? I got a new hip replacement.” Martha says with ease as she leans back against her chair, “It’s about time I try this new puppy out. That young man is a fine piece of specimen. They didn’t make them like that in my days.”

Before Felicity can respond - not that she knew how to respond to that kind of declaration in the first place - the light’s in the ballroom dim, and the spotlights focus on the dance floor. There is a large projection screen behind to dance floor and to Felicity and her peanut gallery’s astonishments a familiar tune begins to play. A familiar red crab pops up in front of the screen, and all the kids begin to buzz with excitement, as Sebastian the crab begins to sing. Felicity grins widely as some of the kids run out to the center of the stage tugging on their parents and older siblings alike. Baby octopus tentacle aside, this entire event is clearly geared towards the kids, which Felicity thinks is awesome.

She feels familiar callous fingers against her shoulder, and she turns around just in time to see Oliver slip into his seat. Felicity bites her lips to hide her laugh, when Martha sends Oliver, what can only be described as a lecherous gaze. She smirks to herself when Oliver shifts his chair closer to Felicity, no doubt from the old lady’s stare. Felicity rolls her eyes, getting to her feet as she tugs on Oliver’s hand, “Let’s dance.”

“I don’t dance.” Oliver says automatically, staying firmly in his spot.

Felicity rolls her eyes as she leans forward whispering in his ear, “Then you have to fend for yourself when Martha decides to sit in your lap or worse.”

Oliver gets to his feet without a second thought practically pulling her to the dance floor. They both grin as the little kids greet ‘Elsa’ with enthusiasm, but just as they reach to the center of the dance floor, the song ends and another begins. Much to Felicity’s horror she recognizes the soft medley almost immediately, and sure enough, she looks up at the projection screen and sees Beauty and the Beast gliding across their own ballroom.

“Seriously?” Felicity mutters to herself, but looks up at Oliver with a smile, and to her amazement he’s looking at her shyly.

“You really don’t know how to dance?” Felicity asks in amusement, his answering huff is all she needs for confirmation.

She rolls her eyes and slips her fingers through his own, placing his hand on her waist. When Oliver stands stiffly in front of her she nudges his shoulder lightly, “You need to _move_. C’mon Oliver loosen up a bit, it’s a _kid_ song, its not the tango.”

Oliver grumbles something under his breath, but Felicity just chuckles as he slowly begins to move from left to right, still holding himself stiffly, there is at least a foot of space between them. He finally looks her in the eyes and she can’t help but break into giggles at his scowl. “Relax. You’re doing fine.”

“There is no need to lie.” Oliver grumbles.

Someone taps Oliver at his elbow that is pointing out awkwardly at Felicity’s hip, they both look over to see a little boy no older than 10 looking at Oliver smugly, “I can dance better than you, Mister.”

He then takes dance partner’s hand and _twirls_ the giggling boy in a circle, both boys come up short and then bow at Oliver, sticking their tongues out at him and run off before Oliver can react.

 “Oh my god.” Felicity laughs, fingernails pressing into Oliver’s shoulder as she uses him for support. She leans towards him, their bodies almost touching as she rests her head on his shoulder to catch her breath.

She can feel the moment the tension leaves Oliver’s body, when his hand at her waist hooks around her waist and he tugs her lower body closer to his. She looks up in surprise, but follows his lead as they begin to sway to the music.

At her questioning look Oliver smiles, “I know how to sway. I can’t get showed up by some kid.”

Felicity laughs at his words their bodies moving in time with a new song that’s playing. Felicity is unsure of the song, but she can see many of the adults have joined them on the dance floor, the kids seeming to be fascinated by the projection screen. She places her head tentatively on Oliver’s chest, it’s not until she feels his grip tighten around her waist, and pulling her closer does she allow herself to relax into his embrace.

“Felicity.” Oliver calls out softly, his stubble gently rubbing against her forehead. “I wanted to apologize.”

That gets Felicity’s attention, she tries to pull back but Oliver refuses to release her hold on her, clearly not wanting her to look him. She rolls her eyes at his child like antics, but relents nonetheless, “I’m listening.”

Oliver huffs lightly at her words, “I should have warned you… about the kiss. I know you have those rules, and I don’t want you to think that I was purposely ignoring them, yet again. I wouldn’t want to do something that would make you uncomfortable.”

Felicity releases a soft sigh at his words, her emotions conflicting; on one had she’ s touched that not only is he being thoughtful, but actually _apologizing_ for something, but on the other hand she’s so mad that he’s choosing to cop out of addressing their kiss, by hiding behind their cover story. Then again maybe _she_ is the only one that read into something that wasn’t there. She’s always been aware that she is attracted to him, its only recently she’s realized that its more than just attraction and a small part of her thought he felt the same way, clearly she was wrong. Overall, she is simply disappointed in herself at seeing more than there is, yet again.

“Felicity?” Oliver calls out tentatively, his hand squeezing her gently at the waist.

“It’s okay.” Felicity replies, finally looking up to him, smile plastered on her face, “You were put on the spot, and the whole point of this _thing_ was to put our relationship out there. It’s probably time we kissed anyway.”

Oliver eyebrows shoot up into his hairline at her words, he doesn’t tease her about her remark, but just looks wide eyed and surprised. Felicity flames redden, his lack of response making her even more nervous, “I mean for the _cover_ , it was time we kissed to be more _believable_ – I didn’t mean for _us_ to kiss – well obviously I did, but not in the way that…”

Oliver removes his hand from her waist cupping her cheek gently, stopping her mid ramble, “I know what you mean.”

He looks at her warmly, his thumb brushing gently against her cheek; Felicity’s breath catches in her throat at the gesture. Her heartbeat quickens when his eyes flicker to her lips and then back to her, his eyes dilating. She starts to rise on her tip toes, heart racing in anticipation as Oliver begins to lower his head, but then a loud voice rings throughout the ballroom and like a bucket of cold ice water crashing over their heads, effectively ends the moment.

“We have a special treat for the kids today.” The MC’s voice rings out, Felicity takes a step back, her fingers slipping through Oliver’s as they lose contact just as the spotlight shines on them, “We have our very own Elsa, waiting to take pictures with all of the kids.”

Immediately the room is a buzz of excitement, kids squealing and clapping as they all rush towards Felicity. She holds her hands up, bracing herself, just as she feels a strong arm tug her gently behind him.

“Hey mister! Wait your turn!”

Oliver laughter rings out gently at Felicity’s ear before he stands tall and addresses the small crowd surrounding them, “You guys need to form a line. See the lady with the sign, waving over there?”

Felicity watches in amusement as every little head turns to that direction as Oliver waves at one of the ushers, “That’s where the line starts, if you don't wait in line, you can't get a picture with Elsa.”

Once again his words seem to have the magic touch, because instantly all the kids begin to move in that direction, only one little girl no older than three is standing directly in front of them, arms folded over her chest as she glares at Oliver defiantly.

“Can I help you, young miss?” Oliver asks in amusement.

Felicity has never heard that tone from him before, the light affection in which he speaks to the little girl. A few weeks ago she would have never thought he was even capable of speaking to children, much less with such ease and familiarity. If she’s being honest with herself, the way he deals with the children not only pleasantly surprises her, but also makes him even that more appealing than he already was.

She is so freaking screwed.

“If we are all the way over there, how come Elsa is here with _you_?”

Felicity snickers as she steps out from behind Oliver, holding out her hand to the little girl. She immediately steps into character, her back held staging as she speaks, “Are you offering to escort me to the ice palace?”

The little girl takes Felicity’s hand eagerly, her eyes wide in anticipation, “is it really made out of ice?”

“Most likely not, it's a little too warm.” Felicity says truthfully. She looks back at Oliver who is just watching the exchange with an unreadable expression, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

“I thought that's why Olaf wasn’t here. It's too warm.” The little girl says smartly, grinning up at Felicity, as she tugs her towards the little ‘ice palace’ they have set up for the photo-shoot. “Not as warm as the summer, but too warm for snowmen.”

Felicity silently nods in agreement, looking over her shoulder to see that Oliver has already made his way back to their table, but is still looking in their direction with a soft smile on his face. She needs to know about their almost kiss, needs to ask him point blank, cause these mixed signals is messing with her head. For now, she has to focus on the masses of little people currently surrounding her, all eager to take a picture.

* * *

 

The photo-shoot shoot provides the perfect distraction for Felicity; she is too focused on all the little kids, patiently answering every one of their inquiring questions. The photo-shoot is fun and despite her current displeasure of being type cast, Felicity is reminded why she loves this job so much. Five years ago, she would never in her wildest dreams expected to be in this situation, her love for singing and dancing as she played with her computers was never supposed to turn into a _career_ of all things. But now, standing around numerous little kids, all eagerly trying to gain her attention, little girls looking at her like she hung the moon, she couldn't imagined it any other way.

Once the photo-shoot ends, Felicity looks for Oliver but frowns when she notices their table is empty. She slips out of the ballroom, slowly making her way to the bathroom. As much as she enjoys wearing these fabulous dresses, she hates when she has to go to the bathroom and then literally fight with 10 thousand dollar dress, _just_ so she can pee. She slips into the bathroom, still grumbling silently in her head as she heads to a stall.

“Ms. Smoak.”

Felicity is so consumed by her thoughts she doesn’t hear the sound of high heels clicking against the titled floor, until someone calls her name as she steps out of the bathroom stall. She looks up startled, her eyes widening even more so when she sees Oliver’s mother standing by the sink looking at her questioningly.

“Mrs. Queen.” Felicity smiles pleasantly at the older woman while she moves towards the sink. “I hope you and Mr. Steele are enjoying the dinner.”

“I could have done without knowing what octopus tastes like,” Moira says with a dry tone. Felicity may have only just met the woman, but she knows a fake smile anywhere. “I wasn’t aware you were _that_ Felicity, in Frozen. I saw one of your matinee’s last summer.”

“Thank you.” Felicity says brightly, despite the fact that Moira didn't compliment Felicity’s work. Not that Felicity needs validation from the older woman. She has enough review articles and a Tony nomination for that. “I loved playing Elsa. I always felt like I related to…”

“Why are you with my son?” Moira asks bluntly, cutting Felicity off, her eyes trained on the younger woman. “As you so eloquently pointed out, you aren’t some ‘floozie’ he picked up in a bar. You clearly make good money, so it can’t possibly be for that.”

“I like your son.” Felicity says, not realizing how honest her words are till she says it. She and Oliver never discussed this charade and how it will affect their families, but something tells Felicity, Moira does not need to know the truth. “We enjoy each other’s company and we just want to see where things go.”

“You say that, but yet you have no idea do you?” Moira asks. Her eyes narrow as she scrutinizes Felicity, almost as though she’s trying to read Felicity’s mind.

Felicity has no clue what Moira is referring too, but she doesn't trust the woman to be forthcoming anyway. Felicity is almost certain Moira is just saying these things to get under Felicity’s skin, if Moira only knew that Felicity has dealt with far worse than her little Mama Bear routine. Felicity holds her head up high as she walks to the towel dispenser, quickly tugging on the small white towel, her eyes trained on her task at hand instead of Moira.

“I’m pretty sure whatever it is you think your son is hiding from me, could not be far from the truth.” Felicity says with all the conviction she can muster. She taps into her acting capabilities, more concerned with fooling the older woman, than herself. “I don’t know what you are trying to accomplish here, but I like your son and despite your obvious disapproval, I'm not going anywhere.”

Felicity has to refrain from smiling in satisfaction at a job well done, if the scowl that’s gracing Moira’s Queen face is anything to go by. Moira though squares her shoulders and look Felicity directly in the eye.

“I don’t trust you, Ms. Smoak.”

“You don’t know me, Mrs. Queen.” Felicity counters.

“My point exactly. We’ve conversed all of 5 minutes and yet that’s all it took. I’ve seen you with my son. I see the way you look at him. You obviously care for him, that I don't doubt, yet I don't trust you. You’re hiding something.”

Felicity barely blinks at the woman’s words, never losing eye contact. She knows the moment she falters, she would give this woman reason to doubt her, “Maybe, you’re more afraid of the way your son looks at _me_. Did you ever consider that Mrs. Queen?”

To her immense surprise Moira doesn't confirm Felicity’s suspicions, instead she quietly moves in front of the full-length mirror to check her make up. Felicity is unsure if that means the conversation is over or not, but then Moira speaks up, “On Sunday, my husband and I are having dinner with our children. Thea is bring her new boyfriend around to meet the family, I would like you to join Oliver, to also meet the family.”

This time, Felicity does falter, her jaw going slack at the woman’s invitation, “You’re inviting me to family dinner, after all but saying you disapproved of our relationship?”

“You can keep your secrets, Ms. Smoak.” Moira says easily, “I'm convinced that once you find out all of my son’s secrets, we won’t be seeing much of each other.”

With those final words, she strides out of the bathroom, not even offering Felicity a second glance. Felicity stands in the bathroom unsure how the older woman was able to completely turn that conversation in her favour. In the end she left Felicity suddenly thinking that she is way in over her head. Her genuine feelings for Oliver only further complicate things more than they already are.

* * *

 

Two hours later, Felicity is walking barefoot up the cobblestone driveway of her house Oliver’s jacket engulfing her tiny frame. She has a large order of Big Belly Burger clutched to her chest, the smell of the onion fries as are seeping through the bag and overtaking her sense as her stomach grumbles in anticipation. Oliver trails behind her, his suspenders still clipped to his trousers, the first two buttons undone. He looks absolutely delectable, Felicity has decided. She turns on her heels smiling at him widely before she can make the short trip up the few flight of stairs to her front door.

“Are you coming in? ‘Cause I gotta tell you, I can eat both these meals without your help.” Her words aren't slurring, she’s not _that_ drunk, but her tongue is certainly looser than it usually is.

“Let’s go. I still want my burger.” Oliver shakes his head in laughter at her lazy smile, nudging her lightly up the stairs, her white heels hanging from his fingers. “I told you that last glass of champagne was a bad idea.”

“It was all bubbly and nice though… and _pink.”_

She spins on her heels and easily juggles the bag of food against her chest as she tugs her key fob from between her breasts. She swipes it over a sensor and then types in her five digit code. Once the door opens, she walks into the hallway tossing her key into a ceramic bowl. When Oliver doesn't follow her, she turns around and looks at him curiously, Big Belly Burger bag still clutched to her chest.

“That’s a lot of security.” Oliver points out, “high walls, and trees practically blocking out anyone that wants to see in here.”

“I have a pool.” Felicity says, cursing the extra glasses of champagne that is the cause for her voice to waver, “It would have looked weird to only have the back of the house barred off like that. We can’t all have penthouse apartments with our pools 20 storeys above ground.”

She’s teasing him, hoping to distract him, but Oliver frown only deepens at her words. He takes a step into the house, closing the door behind him, “Do the paparazzi really bother you that much? Or is it a fan thing?”

“I don't think 7 year olds are _that_ tenacious.” Felicity says with a grin, despite the scowl still fixed on Oliver’s face.

“Don’t do that. Don’t joke about this.”

“I didn’t think you cared.” Felicity remarks drily, she makes a beeline for living room, Oliver hot on her heels. She deposits the bag of food on the coffee table and then heads towards her bedroom, already detangling her braid.

“Of course I care!” Oliver snaps after her, his shoes slapping against the titled floor as her follows her, “I would never agreed to this if I knew how much the paparazzi was already making your life hell.”

“Yes, it's all about this agreement right?” Felicity asks bitterly, the day's events; their kiss, his mother’s words, finally catching up to her, “wouldn’t want your precious reputation to be dragged down with another magazine fodder? After all, it’s all just part of the _job_ right?”

“Stop it.” Oliver all but growls, taking a step towards her, so that they are now toe to toe, “You know that’s not true.”

“Do I, Oliver?”  Felicity asks softly, her exhaustion slowly beginning to seep in, “We kiss and I thought there was something there, that it wasn’t just me, but then you _apologize_ for kissing me. So, I thought maybe I read into this and maybe I was the one that was seeing things, but you keep looking at me like that and I don’t know what to think!”

Oliver falters at her words, his eyes softening, giving her the very look she’s talking about. He’s about to take a step back, but Felicity’s hand shoots out and she tugs him towards her, “ _That!_ That’s the look I’m talking about, you’re sending me mixed signals here Oliver. If you don’t feel the same way, I need you to tell me so that I don’t make a further fool of myself. I know I can be intense, I _know_ sometimes I come on too strongly, but I can’t…”

She suddenly finds herself pressed up against her bedroom door, Oliver’s lips on hers. His large hands cup her face, his tongue slipping easily between her lips. They both moan simultaneously, Felicity’s leg hiking up over his thigh, pulling him closer to her body. She gasps out, little puffs of air against his temple as he gently bites down on her lips; then he runs his tongue along it, soothing the now swelling skin.

Felicity hands skim along his sides; her nails catching on his shirt as she tries to yank it out, but no avail. She then remembers his suspenders, and abandons that task, and simply moves her hands south, her nails digging into the soft material of his slacks, squeezing the firm muscle there. Oliver hips buckle at her ministrations, and that only encourages her.

“Oliver.”

Felicity pants out his name between kisses, Oliver barely allowing them time to breathe before he’s pressing his lips against hers again, their teeth clanking as their kisses get more sloppy, more desperate. Felicity’s back arches into him, fingers squeezing his ass, her dress preventing her from feeling him against her like she wants, “Oliver…bedroom…”

Her words seem have finally register and she grins widely when Oliver takes a step back. Their laboured breaths are the only sounds in the stillness of her darken hallway. Felicity looks up with a coy look on her face hand out stretch beckoning Oliver towards her room, but her smile falters on the look on his face. His eyes are dilated, his cheeks flushed, but he’s taking another step away from her, head moving from side to side. Felicity’s heart plummets at his expression.

“Felicity, I can’t…” He stutters out, still trying to catch his breath.

“Just go Oliver.” Felicity says hollowly, hand pressed against her chest as she tries to calm her racing heartbeat.

“Let me just explain.” Oliver pleads. He seems to have caught his bearing and tries to take a step towards her, but Felicity shakes her head pressing her hand against his chest, preventing him from coming closer.

“Go Oliver.” She says with conviction, shaking off his hand when he tries to grab it, to gain her attention.

He says her name pleadingly yet again, but Felicity ignores him, grabbing the handle of her bedroom door and slipping into the room. She closes the door in his face, back pressed against the door, her breathing now laboured for a different reason. She waits a moment, holding her breath to see what he does, but all she hears is the sound of her front door closing and the automatic alarm activating.

She releases a soft sob, hating herself for not trusting her first instincts about him. She wipes her eyes angrily, tugging roughly against the zipper at her side, allowing her dress to pool at her feet. She’s about to head to her bathroom, but freezes in her tracks as an unfamiliar sound rings through out her apartment.

All thoughts of Oliver vanish as her heart quickens at that sound, she steps over her dress and dives onto her bed, grabbing her tablet that’s resting neatly on the pillow. She powers it up with ease, her heart beating violently against her rib cage as she sends a silent prayer that its not what she thinks it is.  She swipes her fingers over the screen in rapid procession, the brief time it takes for the application to load only increasing her anxiety. When she finally gets to her RSS feeds, she quickly scans the articles popping up; she skips over the numerous articles about Oliver and herself, and breathes a sigh in relief when she sees nothing out of the ordinary. She quickly minimizes the app, and moves onto another app repeating the same procedure, her heart rate simmering when she comes to the same conclusion yet again.

Nothing out of the ordinary, everything is _fine_.

She repeats this a few times in her head and then collapses onto her bed, chest heaving. She wonders yet again if she’s in way over her head, and if once again she’s bit off more than she can chew. She wonders if this _thing_ with Oliver, was better off ending before it truly even started.

If only her heart wasn’t already so invested in that stupid man, and his stupid smile, and wasn’t currently breaking at his rejection.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, the characters took a turn with the story I wasn't expecting lol. I hope to keep the updates to every friday or saturday from now on :)

“You just _left?”_ Tommy asks incredulously. He’s sitting on the opposite side of the couch rubbing his temple in frustration, “Oliver, what the hell were you thinking?”

Oliver scowls at his best friends accusatory words, “It’s not what you think. I didn’t…”

“You kiss her, then you leave. That seems to be your MO lately, Ollie.” Tommy grumbles, “But the difference is this is a _work_ matter. I’m surprised Barry hasn’t called me, to give me an earful yet.”

“Allen is a puppy.” Oliver dismisses easily, “Like those stupid little, squeaky furball the girls love. Harmless.”

“So not the point, Ollie.” Tommy growls in exasperation, running his fingers through his hair, tugging on it in frustration, “This thing you guys have been doing for the last month has actually been _working_. I’ve been hearing talk of Axe wanting to sign a deal with you.”

“People still buy that shit?” Oliver asks, nose wrinkling slightly in disgust, those kind of deals, aren’t exactly what he has been looking for, “What about Nike, or Reebok? You know sponsors for my _actual_ sport.”

“You know how these things work, Ollie.” Tommy says patiently, “It’s one step at a time, and you were getting a good name before you went and fuck it up.”

“More like fuck _her_ ….and then _leave._ ” Laurel’s dry tone of disgust rings out as she steps into the living room tossing her handbag and heels in the corner. She’s still dressed in her work clothes, and when she pins Oliver with a stare, Oliver suddenly feels like a witness in one of her trials.  She turns to her husband and holds out a perfectly manicured hand, “You owe me $50 bucks. It has not been one full month.”

“I did not sleep with Felicity!” Oliver growls loudly, gaining their attention immediately, “I kissed her, then I panicked and I ran.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re in love with her.” Tommy says flabbergasted, collapsing against the couch in surprise.

“ _No!_ ” Oliver growls angrily.

He kicks the leg of the coffee table in frustration, but then howls when Laurel pinches the top of his ear and twists it. He swats her hand away, rubbing his now red ear as he looks at her incredulously.

“Don’t damage my furniture because you are emotionally stunted.” She snaps, she then points a threatening finger at him, “ _Fix_ this. This girl is _good_ for you, for the past month you’ve been the old Ollie, and not this bitter man, I’ve had the unfortunate _pleasure_ to deal with for the past 6 months.”

Oliver looks across at Tommy incredulously, who just shrugs his shoulders helplessly, “She’s not wrong, Ollie.”

“It’s been _four_ weeks.” Oliver says in exasperation, “We’ve gone on a handful of dates.”

“ _Fifteen_.” Laurel pipes up, smirking at Oliver knowingly, “Not including last night. Ollie, this girl has you wrapped around her finger and you don’t even _realize_ it. You _kiss_ her and now you’re sitting here asking us for help, this is almost like…”

“ _Don’t_.” Oliver warns his gaze hardening, “It’s not like that…it’s not _anything_. It’s been _four_ weeks. I’m not in love with her. I can barely stand her.”

Both Tommy and Laurel laugh at his protest, only causing Oliver’s scowl to deepen. Tommy looks at Oliver in amusement, “Okay, let’s pretend that you aren’t in love with Felicity.”

Oliver growls at his friend’s words only encouraging the couple more, Tommy raises his hands in defence, still grinning, “Hear me out? We both know you _like_ her, so drop the whole, ‘I can barely stand her’, that didn’t even work after your _first_ date. Let’s start simple, why did you kiss her?”

“She’s hot.” Oliver responds automatically, but raises his hand in front of his face when Laurel grabs one of the throw pillows. She slaps him at the back of the head with it, effectively making his defence moot.

“Don’t do that, Ollie.” Laurel says seriously, “We’re trying to have a serious conversation with you.”

Oliver sighs and collapses against the couch rubbing his face tiredly, “Does it really matter?”

“Oh, Ollie.” Laurel says sympathetically taking a seat between both men, but turning to face Oliver, “It obviously matters or you wouldn’t be so turned up about it.”

“It was never going to work anyway.” Oliver dismisses slightly dejected, “ I should have never kissed her.”

“Why can’t it work?” Laurel asks, but at Oliver look of incredulity she rolls her eyes, “ seriously you need to stop letting what happened in the past affect your decisions now. Felicity is not like…”

“I _know_ that.” Oliver snaps, but huffs out an apology at Laurel’s glare. He would hate to go against her in court. “Felicity is _good_ and honest and not some lying, backstabbing…”

“Watch it.” Laurel warns, reminding Oliver exactly _whom_ he’s talking to.

“My point is, she doesn't have an evil bone in her body and I have way too much baggage for her.” Oliver explains, “I'm pretty sure her biggest secret is that she’s from England and seems ashamed of it? Who knows, but it's _nothing_ compared to what I _haven't_ told her.”

“She’s British?” Tommy asks surprise, he then sits up; his interested peaked.

“Either that or she watches way too many British TV shows.” Oliver says with a grin, “I wouldn't be surprised if it's _that_. She is always quoting Sherlock and tried to convince me that investing a few _months_ to catch up with Doctor Who is time well spent. I’m pretty sure that's why she speaks like that,”

Oliver trails off on seeing the knowing look on Laurel’s face, “What?”

“You’re so in love with her, and you don’t even _realize_ it.” She says in amusement shaking her head.

“Four _weeks_ , Laurel.”

“No, no. She’s on to something.” Tommy says eagerly, completely ignoring Oliver’s warning glare, “ _This_ is your MO. You fall head over heels for these girls in the matter of _weeks_. First it was Helena and then…”

“And we see how well _both_ of those turned out for me.” Oliver snaps angrily at his friend, “ I am not in love with Felicity.”

“Okay, fine. Whatever.” Laurel dismiss and by the roll of her eyes Oliver knows she doesn't believe him for a second, “You still need to sort this shit out, so start by telling her about Katie.”

“No.” Oliver replies instantly.

“Oh for fucks sake, Oliver.” Tommy groans in frustration, “Don’t you think the fact that Felicity knows about Katie, but does not even _ask_ you about her and _trusts_ you, means you can trust _her_ with this stupid secret of yours.”

“It's not stupid.” Oliver protests.

“It is.” Laurel dismisses, “You act like this is some dirty little secret and even if we are _wrong_ about Felicity - I've met her, neither evil _nor_ vindictive is in her DNA- and if she goes to the press, so what?”

Oliver growls at her words, the implication making his blood boil, but Laurel as always, completely ignores him and continues on, “It wouldn't be a terrible thing, but we’re all jumping ahead of ourselves, cause we all know that Felicity is _not_ Helena and she wouldn't do that to you. Ollie, every week you have dinner with us and every time you come here you talk about Felicity as though she hung the moon. You clearly care for her; why not just _tell_ her about Katie? I'm not saying jump into a relationship with her, its obvious you still have some _issues_ where that is concern…”

Oliver shoots Laurel and incredulous look, at which she raises her hand in defence, “with very good reason. I'm just saying that it won't hurt to open up to her about _everything_.”

Tommy nods eagerly scooting closer to Laurel so that she can lean against him, and he picks easily from where she left off. Oliver loves his friends, but part of him kinda hates how in sync they seem to be, it only seems to remind him of his own failed relationships.

“You know you can’t juts tell her about Katie, you have to tell her the entire story.” Tommy continues, “It’s better she hears it from you, anyway.”

“Who else is going to tell her?” Oliver asks bitterly. He sighs deeply knowing that he is at fault for the current state of his pseudo relationship with Felicity. He points an accusing finger at his best friend, “I blame you for this.”

Tommy laughs wholeheartedly at Oliver’s words, “I never told you to fall in love with the girl.”

“I don’t love her.” Oliver protests weakly. He doesn’t, he _can’t_ possibly be in love with that chatterbox blonde, who looks adorable with her black- rimmed glasses and that ponytail that’s hit him the face more times than he can count…he is so fucking _screwed._

He looks across at Laruel and Tommy to see that they are wearing matching smirks, almost as if they know what he is thinking.

“Fucking hell.”

Tommy laughs and claps Oliver on the back, his smile widening, “Dude, you never half-ass things do you? Last time you just skipped pleasantries and just skipped straight to…”

“Uncle Ollie!”

Standing at the entry way is Jamie Merlyn, she’s dressed in her Finding Nemo pyjamas, her brown eyes wide when she sees her uncle. Her light brown curls are in disarray and bounce as she runs towards Oliver at full speed. Oliver, all to use to this greeting, already is bracing himself as he opens his arms for her.

“How is my favourite niece?” Oliver asks brightly. He kisses her cheek, knowing how much his scruff tickles the little girl. Sure enough, Jamie begins to squirm in his arms, giggling loudly as she nudges his head away.

“Uncle Ollie.” She protests weakly between laughter, “I’m your _only_ niece, Mommy said only you are here.”

“That I am.” Oliver says with a nod, “You and I are going to have a sleepover, so Mommy and Daddy can go on a date.”

Jamie wrinkles her nose at the word and looks across at her parents curiously, “What’s a date?”

Laurel opens her mouth about to answer, but Oliver beats her to it. He smirks at his friends evilly, “That’s how they are going to get you a little brother or sister.”

“Oliver!”

Both Laurel and Tommy’s loud yells of protest go on deaf ears though, cause Jamie is squealing with delight. She crawls onto her parents lap, knees digging into Laurel’s stomach and Tommy’s leg as she tries to basically climb them in her excitement, “Are you going to _choose_ a baby brother or sister? I wanna come. I thought they go in the Mommy’s tummy.”

She pokes Laurel’s stomach _hard_ , earning a wince from her mother, “Mommy, you don’t gots a baby in there.”

“No sweetie,” Laurel says tersely, shooting daggers across at Oliver, “It doesn’t work like that. Daddy and Mommy have to talk about it some more,”

“Talking is _boring_.” Jamie protests.

“It’s certainly the boring aspect of it.” Oliver quips. He then hisses in pain when Laurel’s foot collides with his shin.

“Jamie, why don’t you ask Uncle Ollie how the baby gets in the Mommy’s tummy, while your Dad and I get ready for our date?” Laurel offers, grinning evilly at Oliver, “Uncle Ollie is an _expertise_ in that.”

Jamie looks at her mother in confusion, “What’s an es-patsy?”

Laurel chuckles at the word pronunciation and scoops the five year old in her arms as she gets to her feet. She tosses Jamie into Oliver’s arms, earning a squeal from Jamie and a grunt from Oliver, “It means he knows _everything_ about it, so you can ask him anything you want.”

Laurel sends Oliver a triumphant grin as she waves at him before she heads out of the room. Oliver grunts and looks across at Tommy who is already getting to his feet smirking at Oliver, “Haven’t you learned by now you can _never_ win with Laurel?”

“Tommy!” Oliver protests, briefly ignoring Jamie’s question about how they put the baby in the tummy by shrinking it.

“Just don’t traumatize her, Ollie!” Tommy warns, but then he breaks out in laughter as he disappears down the hallway.

“Mark in school said that the Daddy has to put the baby in there.” Jamie continues completely oblivious to Oliver’s turmoil, “Does he stick it in with his finger by her belly button?”

Oliver groans at the question throwing his head back against the couch.

“Uncle Ollie! You’re ignoring me, Mommy said not to do that. I’m gonna tell!”

 

* * *

 

“Don’t give me that Rose, you could have scooted over a bit!” Felicity cries out tossing her popcorn at her tv screen, “Your dress isn’t _that_ big, but no you gotta have the door all to yourself. Selfish Rose, that is what you are _selfish_.”

The movie suddenly freezes and Barry’s face appears in the middle of the screen as Uptown Funk begins to blast from the speakers. Felicity bites her lip, debating if she could get away with ignoring his call, with a sigh she leans over to her iPad that’s perched on her coffee table, pressing the green answer button.

“ _Finally!”_ Barry calls out in exasperation his face zoomed up in the screen, the screen begins to shake, and Felicity rolls her eyes, waiting for Barry to sort himself out. She always tells him to set up the iPad _before_ he calls her, but of course he never listens.

She taps her fingers impatiently against her remote, watching as the screen zooms out and finally focuses on Barry. He’s sitting at his dinner table, and behind him is the kitchen.

“Hi Felicity!” Iris calls out, waving as she passes.

Felicity calls out in greeting but her smile falters at Barry’s look, neither of them says anything, until Barry huffs, “So are you going to tell me why I haven’t heard from you in the last week? You were supposed to get back to me about the charity event, instead I get a call from the founder praising your work and asking if they can book you for another event. What gives?”

“Nothing gives, I just decided to take a ‘me’ day.” Felicity explains easily, despite the fact that is been _seven_ days since she’s spoken to Barry. She opens her arms gesturing to her sweats and the bowl of popcorn indicating her current mood, “And you are interrupting my last few moments with Jack.”

Barry rolls his eyes at her words, “I’m sure _Rose_ will be happy to get a break from the verbal whiplash.”

Felicity huffs at his words, but does not respond, not wanting to encourage him, Barry naturally catches on and he looks at her closely, “What did you do?”

“I didn’t _do_ anything.” Felicity grumbles, “Sometimes a girl just wants some alone time –outside of her already busy schedule of rehearsals and dance classes - is that so hard to believe?”

“You and Oliver did not fall out again did you?” Barry asks suspiciously, unaware that he has hit the nail on the head. “Do I have to call Tommy?”

“No!” Felicity says quickly, _too_ quickly.

“What did he do?” Barry asks immediately, “I saw the pictures, you two looked pretty cozy on the red carpet _and_ on the dance floor.”

“He’s a terrible dancer.” Felicity grumbles, all her frustration with Oliver comes rushing back to her, “He could never make up his _mind_ and just _stomped_ all over my…feet.”

 “Oh god. What did you do?” Barry bemoans, his fingers already pressing into his forehead, “You didn’t run the guy did you?”

“ _Excuse me_?” Felicity snaps incredulously, her spine straightening as she glares at her best friend, “ _I_ didn’t do anything, _he_ was the one that _ran_ off. _He_ was the one that kissed me and then hightailed it out of here like if I had the dreaded lurgi or something.”

At Barry’s blank stare Felicity huffs, “ _Cooties_ , Barry. You’ve known be for 5 years, you should know these things by now.”

“In the five years I’ve known you, the conversation of children’s cooties has never come up.” Barry responds dryly, he then points an accusing finger at Felicity, “Don’t try to change the subject! What happened with Oliver?”

“Nothing happened with Oliver,” Felicity says with finality, deciding she does not want to get into this with Barry.

“Felicity…”

“Sorry Barry, but I have to go feed Steve…he’s calling out for me.” She’s already out of her seat and moving towards the iPad as she says this.

“Steve’s a _fish_ , Felicity! You can’t avoid th…” Barry is abruptly cut off as Felicity slams her finger against the screen.

She then brushes her finger against the screen lightly, almost soothing the glass screen. “Sorry, baby. Barry is just too nosy.”

She shakes her head and moves over to the large aquarium that connects her kitchen to her living room. She grabs the bottle of fish food and lightly taps the glass smiling at the overgrown goldfish that begins to swim in circles in front of her.

“I’m not avoiding anything, right Steve? _I’m_ not the one that’s avoiding.” Felicity grumbles, “Two steps forward and then 5 steps back, that’s the dance with that stubborn man. You would think that he would say what he actually _means_ , but nope, not Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen has to kiss me with those _sinful_ lips.”

She looks across at the fish to see Steve’s large lips begin to move in and out, no doubt noticing the food bottle in her hand. Felicity giggles lightly at the fish.

 “Not quite like that Steve. But you know what that stupid, _stubborn_ man does? He _apologizes_. I agree Steve, it is ridiculous and you know it would be fine if it ended there, but _no_ he has to go and say that he _cares_ and looks at me like he just wants to tear off my clothes – for the record if I wasn’t wearing a ten thousand dollar dress I would be _all_ for the clothes tearing- but nope, he kisses me senseless and then _runs_. Why can’t he just make up his mind! I’m a big girl I could take the rejection, he can be straight with me.”

Felicity huffs as she pours the food into the fish tank, “Sometimes I wish I was a fish like you, Steve. I’d get to eat, swim around all day, no stupid boys to worry about. Boys that don’t even return my calls, we still have a business agreement. I at least, deserve that small courtesy, right Steve?”

With the fish flakes floating around the tank, Steve swims away leaving Felicity to her thoughts, “C’mon Steve, you’re giving me the cold shoulder too? That’s rude Steve, I put food in your mouth, well not literally.”

Felicity groans loudly pressing her forehead against the glass of the fish tank, “Now I’m arguing with a fish. You’ve lost your mind, Felicity.”

She catches her reflection in the mirror at the back of the tank and frowns. She tilts her head and looks at her reflection more closely, her blond hair is swept to the side, her glasses perched on her nose, “It wouldn’t be the first thing I lost.”

She sighs deeply, but then shakes her head, squaring her shoulder a look of determination suddenly crossing her features, “ _No_. I refuse to let Oliver have all the control in this…this _thing_ between us.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, Steve.” She taps lightly at the glass then groans, “I’m doing it again. I _gotta_ stop doing that.”

 

* * *

 

Felicity slips into the lobby of Oliver’s building with ease hoping to avoid eye contact with anyone. This is the first time she’s been in this building, but she doesn’t want to appear like she doesn’t know where she’s going. The security guard though, spots her immediately and waves at her, calling her by name in greeting, not once stopping her much to Felicity’s surprise. She smiles pleasantly at him, but quickly breathes a sigh in relief when the elevator arrives. Once inside the elevator she closes the door immediately, and then surveys the panel in front of her looking for Oliver’s floor. She then sees the penthouse button and sighs when she realizes it requires a key card swipe. She looks up at the elevator, noting the camera in the corner of the room; she puts her back to the camera and immediately begins to dig in her large handbag.

“I’m going to hell.” She mutters to herself.

She grabs hold of a blank key card swipes it through the slot that blinks an angry red, almost like the inanimate object just _knows_ what she’s up to. She then discretely slips it through her own card slot that is connected to her phone; her phone beeps twice and she tries once again, when the light flashes green and the elevator begins to move, Felicity smiles with relief. “No backing down now, Smoak.”

The elevators open up to small hallway that leads directly to a door, she walks up to the door and takes a deep breath before she slams her fist against the wooden panel, “Oliver! It’s me –Felicity, that is - in case you didn’t recognize my voice. What am I _doing_? Oliver open the…”

The front door slams open and Oliver his dressed his just his sweats, rubbing his eyes as he peers down at her, “Do you not know what time it is?”

He looks deliciously sleep rumpled; there is a long line against his cheek from him sheets, his blond hair standing on edge. He yawns loudly before he glares at Felicity, but the glare comes out looking more like a squint, Felicity wonders briefly if he’s even awake.

“It’s a quarter past _one_.” Felicity answers easily, she huffs when Oliver simply turns around and walks off, forcing her to follow him. She slips off her sneakers at the door, right next to a bright pink rain boots that she _knows_ can’t be Olivers.

“It’s too early.”

“Well tough cookies for you.” Felicity grunts trailing behind him, her eyes wide as she takes in the large expanse of his apartment.

“How did you even get up here?” Oliver grumbles, clearly still half asleep.

He moves into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee maker, tossing two single packets onto the counter from a top tray. He then grabs two coffee mugs, while simultaneously popping one of the packets into the coffee maker.

“The guard at the front desk let me in.” Felicity lies easily. She takes a seat at the center counter and rests her handbag in front of her.

“He’s not suppose to do that without calling me first.” Oliver says with a wide yawn. “I have to talk to the manager about that.”

“It’s not like he doesn’t know who I am.” Felicity points out quickly, not wanting the innocent man to get into trouble.

“True.” Oliver remarks.

His back is still to her as he fiddles with the coffee maker, the green t-shirt he’s wearing is worn out and she can practically see the imprint of his back muscles against the fine material. Her gaze wanders down his body and she has to hold back a groan at the way his sweatpants hug his ass. The grey material hangs loosely on his hips but she can see the outline of his ass perfectly in the soft material. Felicity bites her lip looking away just as Oliver turns around two cups of coffee in his hands, now that he’s facing her she can see how nervous he is. He places the bright green mug in front of her and slides into the stool opposite from her, his fingers nervously playing with the rim of the mug.

“I'm surprised to see you here.” Oliver offers tentatively, and it’s comforting that he’s as nervous as she is.

“Well, you gave me no choice, when you refused to take my phone calls.” She says bluntly, her anger from the last two days building up again.

“I figured you were only calling to yell at me.” Oliver says sheepishly, taking a sip of his coffee, blue eyes peering across from over his mug.

One look at his clear blue eyes and Felicity finds her resolve already breaking, which is completely unfair. She came to his house with one goal in mind, more specifically to give him a piece of _her_ mind, but then she takes one look at his sheepish expression and she looses her last bit of resolve.

“Well, yes.” She says truthfully. Her blunt words seeming to make Oliver smile behind his coffee mug, “But I needed to know if we’re still going to that basketball game, assuming _this_ whole thing is still on. It is right? I _knew_ I shouldn’t have let you kissed me the second time. I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. I always see things that aren’t there and I convinced myself that you were falling…that you were on the same page with me but I…”

“You weren’t wrong.” Oliver butts in, cutting her off before she thankfully made even a bigger fool of herself. “You aren’t wrong, about the falling…the being on the same page thing. I feel it too.”

Felicity’s nose wrinkles in confusion at his confession. She places her mug on the table and stares at him questioningly, “But you stopped, before it could even really start. You _left_.”

“Only because you _asked_ me too.” Oliver all but snaps, his own frustration bubbling up. “I wanted to explain things to you _before_ we jumped into anything buy _you_ sent me away, demanded I left. I thought _you_ had changed your mind.”

“Oliver, I was inviting you into my _bedroom_.” Felicity says in exasperation, “I certainly was not asking you to look at my _curtains_. _You_ were the one that put the brakes on things. I was all for getting my end way with you.”

Oliver tilts his head to the side at her words, his forehead creasing in confusion. Felicity rolls her eyes, “Sex, Oliver! Keep up, will you!”

“It’s not my fault you seem to talk in _code_.” Oliver grumbles.

He places his coffee mug next to hers and walks around to the other side of the kitchen counter so now there is nothing between them. He does not reach out for her like she hoped; instead he takes a seat on the opposite stool so he’s no longer looming over her. He takes a deep breath and she can already tell he’s trying to psych himself up to have this conversation.

“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.” Olive blurts out, he rubs his neck in discomfort, but still maintains eye contact with her, “I’m not sure if I’m ready for anything yet, but I do know _,_ I don’t want to start it with secrets.”

Felicity straightens her spine in alert at his declaration, her heartbeat quickens, and her palms sweat as she waits for him to continue. She nods slowly, encouraging him with just the tilt of her head. Her own secrets gnawing at her, she wonders if he’s figured her out.

“Katie.” Oliver ventures tentatively, “Katie is my daughter.”

“Yes, I know.” Felicity slowly drawls out, she’s not mocking him, but she’s just surprised at how _nervous_ he is. She realizes yet again that she’s dodged a bullet, and she begins to wonder if she is doing the right thing by keeping her own secrets to herself.

Oliver though pulls back slightly, his eyes widening for a brief second before he scowls at her, “How do you know, who told you?”

Felicity raises both hands in the air in defense, “Wow! Calm down, no one told me. I figured it out on my own. You aren’t exactly subtle and well the Malibu Barbie tricycle at the front door and hot pink rain boots kinda confirmed my suspicions. Pink’s not really your colour.”

Oliver huffs out a laugh at that, his shoulder sagging as the tension leaves his body, “I’m more of a green guy.”

“I’ve noticed.” She quips, her cheeks flush as she eyes his t-shirt clad chest.

“How long have you known?” Oliver asks curiously, inching towards her so that his knee brushes against her own.

“Only recently,” She answers honestly, her mind going back to all those dates when Oliver would step aside to take a call, sometimes leaving early, other times seeming much more brighter than he was before, “At first I thought it was a girl, but then I figured no woman in their right mind would agree to their boyfriend to be in this kind of arrangement. The fact that we had not kissed though gave me pause, then last week when you kissed me on the red carpet, I figured either things ended or Katie was not who I thought she was. Oh my _enlighten_ conversation with your mother added more pieces to the puzzle.”

Oliver frowns at her words, “When did you talk to my mother?”

“At the charity event, she cornered me in the bathroom.” Felicity says easily, at his scowl she places a hand on his knee, and squeezes it reassuringly, “It’s fine. I’ve handled worse than your mother Oliver. She’s harmless, a little too _catty_ for my taste…oh god I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that.”

Oliver snorts though, easing her worries a bit, “My mother means well, she just prefers to have control of _every_ situation in her life, including mine and Thea’s. What did she even tell you?”

“Mama bear protecting her cub.” Felicity says with a dismissive laugh, Moira Queen was barely a blimp on Felicity’s radar. “She did surprise me when she invited me to dinner next week Sunday, well actually this _weekend_?”

Oliver groans dramatically at Felicity’s words, he leans forward and presses his forehead against her shoulder. Felicity grins in amusement, not use to this carefree side of Oliver, she raises her hands and pats his head soothingly, “I’m guessing you’re not a fan of the dinner, or just not a fan of me going? Initially I was going to wait till you brought it up, but then we stopped speaking for a week and now Sunday is two _days._ But I was under the assumption that your family doesn’t know that this thing is all a ruse, so maybe…”

She’s forced to stop when she suddenly feels Oliver’s lips against her own, the now familiar feel of his lips short circuits her brain and she finds herself return the kiss in earnest. He then pulls back and smiles and winks at her, “I’m going to remember that little trick for future references. As for the dinner I prefer to let my family think what they have been reading is true.”

Felicity nose wrinkles slightly, she is still slightly breathless from his impromptu kiss, “So you want to continue to pretend to be in a relationship, while we figure out if we want an _actual_ relationship?”

“Yes?” Oliver asks slightly unsure.

“Okay good, I agree with you. I just want to make sure we are on the same page for once.” Felicity says with a nod of her head.

While its good to be on the same page, she’s comforted to know that they both are very hesitant about jumping into anything. If the last week has taught her anything, it’s that they can’t afford to let their personal relationship affect their _public_ one.

“Okay.”

They both pause and look at each other, silence linger longer than normal and then they both burst out into laughter. “I don’t think I’ve ever agreed to any relationship so formally…well you know except our… _other_ relationship?”

Felicity giggles at his words and nods in agreement, she then smiles at him widely and grabs a hold of his t-shirt tugging him closer to her, so that he is now standing between her open legs, his arms resting lightly on her shoulder as she wraps her arms around his torso and looks up at him brightly, “So any plans for today?”

“Only if it involves you having your finished with me?” Oliver nose wrinkles as he tries to repeat what she said earlier, his fingers stilling their movement in her hair.

“It is ‘I’ll have my _end_ way with you.’ It’s all about context, it won’t work like that.” Felicity corrects him, saying more than she should. She braces herself, waiting for him to ask more about it, but Oliver simply nods and resumes playing with the ends of her ponytail.

“I actually wanted to hear more about Katie.” Felicity ventures, at the smile that graces Oliver face she knows she had asked the right question.

“How about I make us breakfast, then I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” Oliver says eagerly, already slipping out of her grasp and moving to the stove.

“Oliver, its almost 3 in the afternoon.” Felicity points out in exasperation. She tugs her bag towards her and searches for her phone as she speaks, “How about I order us a pizza while you take a shower?”

“Alright, order from Alejandra’s I have an account set up with them.” Oliver offers swiping the phone from her grasp and placing it on the counter. Her protest dies in her throat just as Oliver presses his lips to hers.

She sighs into the kiss, her fingers clenching at his t-shirt as he slowly nips at her bottom lip. Oliver slowly tugs her ponytail free, his fingers running through her hair as he deepens the kiss. Felicity moans in approval as she dances her fingers along his hips, she lightly tugs at the waistband of his sweats, earning a groan of approval from Oliver.

She pulls back slightly and looks at him with hooded eyes, finger slipping below the waistband of his sweats, her finger nails slowly trailing along the bare skin of his hip. Oliver eyes darken at her movement, his own fingers tugging at her hair. Felicity smiles at him coyly, “Why don’t I order the pizza and _then_ I can join you in the shower?”

“I’ll get the _bathtub_ ready.” Oliver moans as he presses a kiss at her neck, Felicity sighs as his the stubble brushes against her skin, her entire body humming with want. “They have a one-click thing on their app.”

Felicity giggles at his eagerness, but when he tries to take a step back, she’s fisting his t-shirt and pulling him back for one kiss, that slowly turns into more. She knows _this_ is certainly not taking things slow, but she can’t ignore the way her body responds to him, and judging by the hardness she feels against her stomach she knows that they are on the same train of thought as well.

When Oliver’s hand slip under her tank top, his fingers just barely grazing the underside of her breasts, Felicity pulls back with a hand to his chest, Oliver’s fingers still rubbing the soft curve of her breasts, “Bath…I’ll…mmm _stop_ …Go get the bathtub ready, while I order the pizza, _then_ I’ll meet you in the tub. If you happen to have bubbles, I won’t be _opposed_ to it.”

Oliver laughs wholeheartedly at her obvious suggestion, he squeezes her breast on last time, grinning widely at the low moan she releases, and then slips out of her grasp, “I’ll leave a bathrobe on my bed for you, I won’t be _opposed_ to you wearing it. Bedroom is the third door on the left.”

He sends her one last suggestive wink before he runs off, Felicity laughing softly at his antics. She quickly grabs her phone grateful that she already has the app installed for the pizza place. She places their order in record time, her body itching in anticipation for their bath. She tosses her phone back into her handbag leaving it on the kitchen counter. She quickly heads off down the hallway in the direction Oliver just left. She doesn’t have time to survey Oliver’s room, the worn out dark blue robe calling out to her and she can hear the sound of water crashing against the tub in the adjoining bathroom.

“Pizza will be here in 30 minutes.” She calls out.

She eyes the robe and for once in her life she ignores the nagging voice in her mind telling her that this is moving _way_ too quickly. They both have secrets, secrets that Oliver has divulged her too, but she has yet to return the favour. She should not be jumping into this with him until he knows the truth, but her secret isn’t quite like his. She isn’t hiding a tiny little human that she _knows_ she would have met eventual. Her secret is so much more than that, so much more than her and the fact Oliver’s confirmed her suspicions about his kid, makes her even less inclined to divulge her secret. She _won’t_ bring a child into this, she _can’t_. With a deep sigh, Felicity pushes those thoughts away and immediately begins to slip out of her tank top and jeans. She bends her arms behind her back and is just about to unhook her bra when the sound of a _rooster_ crying out makes her jump almost three feet in the air.

“Oliver! What the hell is that?” She calls out in alarm, her hand to her chest.

Oliver sticks his head out of the bathroom door, his annoyance evident, but once he catches sight of Felicity his eyes widen, “Wow.”

Felicity blushes slightly but then the rooster noise is heard yet again and Oliver groans, “It’s the doorbell.”

“Why the hell would you have a rooster as your doorbell?” Felicity grumbles, momentarily forgetting her lack of attire.

“Tommy.” Oliver explains in exasperation, his eyes are focused on her face, but ever so often would dip below, “I haven’t been able to change it, its from the front desk.”

“It can’t be the pizza already can it?” Felicity asks in confusion, she’s already gathering up the robe on the bed slipping it on with ease. She eyes his bare shoulder that is just barely peaking out behind the door and lightly ties the robe together, “You stay put, and I’ll check it out.”

“Felicity! Wait! ” Oliver calls out to her anxiously, but she waves him off as she heads out of the bedroom.

“It’s fine Oliver, you don’t need to put on clothes!” Felicity calls over her shoulder, already heading for the front door, “It’s not like we’re hiding this thing.”

She mutters the last bit to herself, not understanding his sudden skittish mood. She turns down the hallway, but stops short at the unexpected sight.  Standing in the middle of the foyer, is a short slim blonde woman, dressed in jeans and a black-cropped leather jacket; a large duffle bag tossed at her feet and she _smirks_ on seeing Felicity. Felicity barely hears the woman’s greeting words; all she can hear is the sound of blood rushing through her ears. The woman takes a confident step towards Felicity not at all deterred by Felicity’s lack of attire, she holds out a well manicured hand her smirk widening when Felicity doesn’t take it.

“Sara Lance and you must be the woman that’s been screwing my boyfriend.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katie secret revealed, almost everyone figured it out, but no one seemed to be curious as to who the mother was... and shit just hit the fan ;) you didn't think it would be so simple for these two did you?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos! People's reactions to Sara's arrival was interesting to say the least. I'm curious to hear what you guys think about this chapter. Oliver's secrets are all out now :)

“Sara!” Oliver’s loud bark makes Felicity jump in surprise. She was not expecting him to appear behind her so suddenly.

She whirls around just in time to see Oliver stalk towards Sara, not even sending Felicity glance. His hands are clench at his side and he’s only wearing his sweatpants, which are hanging loosely on his hips, and Felicity can tell immediately that he’s not wearing anything underneath. She shakes her head, clearing her mind of _that_ particular thought as she focuses on the issue at hand.

She wants to be angry, but by the look at Oliver’s livid expression and Sara’s smug one, she suspects Oliver is angry enough for the both of them and more importantly, the other woman is _not_ who she says she is. Sara looks across at Felicity, pointedly ignoring Oliver’s outburst, her eyes taking in Felicity’s attire, her knowing smirk widening. Felicity tugs the lapels of her robe tighter around her at the other woman’s stare.

“If I didn’t know any better, I'd say you have a type Ollie.” Sara drawls out, clearly egging Oliver on. She turns to Felicity yet again, surprising the bespectacled blonde, “Does he still do that thing with his tongue…”

“Sara! _Stop_.” Oliver roars, this time swiftly moving to stand in front of a red faced Felicity, “Leave her alone. Why are you even here? Where is Katie?”

Felicity wrinkles her nose at the nickname, but remains rooted in her spot, suspecting that now is not the time to ask about that. Her suspicions on who exactly Sara is, being confirmed when Katie is mentioned; not that she even thought this was some _other_ woman, besides the mother of Oliver’s child. She’s familiar with Oliver’s playboy past the few months before they met, but she also knows that none of those women lasted longer than one night. Sara and Oliver’s obvious familiarity with each other also nips that theory in the bud as well.

“She’s with my parents.” Sara dismisses easily. She nudges the bag at her feet with her foot. “I brought over some of her stuff for you. You said you wanted more of her things here, for when she spends the night.”

Felicity can see the way the tension eases out of Oliver, from the moment his shoulders slump, his voice is soft when he speaks and Felicity heart breaks at his hopeful tone. It's obvious, that there is so much about Oliver’s relationship with his daughter and her mother that she knows nothing about.

“You’re going to let her stay a night?”

Felicity peaks behind his broad shoulders to get a glimpse of Sara’s expression, but the other blonde face is unreadable, her eyes briefly casting to the left to look at Felicity, clearly forgetting that Felicity was even there. Felicity almost slips back behind Oliver, but stops herself from being so ridiculous; instead she stands tall and slips out completely from behind Oliver. Her eyes widening when she sees two pairs of blue eyes staring back at her, Oliver looking at her apologetically.

“I’m just gonna go…” Felicity points to the direction of the bedroom, but Oliver hand shoots out to her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Stay, please.”

Felicity sighs, but nods nonetheless unable to refuse the pleading look he sends her. Oliver then turns to Sara expectantly.

“If that’s going to happen, I need to meet your girlfriend first, Ollie. That was my rule.”

“And I told you I needed to talk to _Felicity_ first, before that could happen.” Oliver releases his hold on Felicity’s forearm, then runs his fingers through his short-cropped hair in frustration, “God damn it, Sara. You always do this. We had this discussion earlier this week; I _told_ you Felicity did not know about Katie. I told you I wanted to speak to her before you meet her, make sure _she_ was even okay with our arrangement, but of course you don’t listen and just barge in here like you own the place, like if you _belong_ here. You lost that right when you decided to _fuck_ your best friend on our kitchen counter.”

Sara barks out a low humourless laugh, her hands throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief, not the sound Felicity expected to hear when someone is accused of infidelity.

“It's been six _months_ Oliver! How many times do you I need to apologize for that? That wasn't how we wanted to tell you! We both know that _this_ relationship was over _long_ before I slept with Nyssa. Or are you conveniently forgetting that _I_ was the one raising _our_ daughter for the past 18 months while you became this big shot football player, that was too ashamed to even _mention_ his family.”

“I wasn’t ashamed of you! I was protecting both you and Katie!” Oliver growls in frustration.

Sara scoffs, “From what Oliver, the big bad media world? The one you seem to be kissing at its feet now, _flaunting_ this new relationship of yours, everywhere you go? Five _years_ , Oliver we were together for five years and not _once_ did you ever take me to one of those charity events you love so much. Not _once_ did you even entertain the idea of taking me there. Do you know what it's been like these past six months for me? To see your face plastered across every gossip rag in the city, with some new bimbo or the other. I know you, Ollie. I _knew_ that was your way at getting back at me for Nyssa. That fucking smirk on those stupid magazines was your very own middle finger to me. I get that I deserved that, but Starlight Foundation, Ollie? You take your girlfriend of one _month_ to a charity event, but you couldn't even _consider_ taking your girlfriend of five _years_ , the mother of your child? That really hurt.”

“Yes well it also ‘hurt’ when I walked into our kitchen and saw _my_ girlfriend of five years, with her head between some girl’s legs!” Oliver says crassly.

Sara growls angrily at his words, “I may have fucked up Oliver, but I wasn’t the one that checked out of this relationship long before Nyssa came into the picture. _You_ were the one that abandoned Katie and I, left me to raise her on my own.”

“You wanted to be a dancer!” Oliver growls in frustration, “You got that opportunity to tour the country and we _both_ agreed that Katie was too young to stay with me. Christ, she was barely two years old. You did not want to leave her with your parents for 18 months so _we_ agreed she’d go with you.”

“Yes, Oliver. I am well aware of the circumstances.” Sara snaps back angrily, her blond hair flying as she takes a menacing step towards Oliver, “and if it wasn’t for _Nyssa_ I don’t know if I could have done it on my own.”

“Yes, lets leave some woman you _fucked_ to raise our daughter, that’s _excellent_ parenting Sara.”

Felicity actually takes a jump back at the way Sara stalks towards Oliver, her eyes shooting daggers at him. When Sara raises her hand to Oliver, Felicity clenches her eyes shut and braces herself, almost as if _she_ were the one receiving the inevitable slap. The lack of sound of skin hitting skin has her slowly peering her eyes open, cautiously checking to see the fall out of Oliver’s accusation. Oliver and Sara are now toe to toe, Sara’s finger pointed directly in his face, if they were cartoon characters, Felicity is certain she would be seeing steam coming from their ears.

“ _Don’t_. You do _not_ get to throw that in my face.” Sara hisses, “You know very well that Nyssa was _hired_ by the company to help take care of the children. The only reason we both agreed that I would go on this thing was because they catered to dancers _with_ childre _n_. I never intended to fall in love with Nyssa. We had our issues, Ollie but I would have never purposely done that to you, and certainly not the way you found out. _You_ on the other hand find this new shiny girlfriend and practically _flaunt_ her in my face taking her to all those events that you never _once_ thought to share with me _and_ with Katie. Do not make me out to be the only bad guy here, Oliver.”

Felicity’s head swivels from left to right, like she's in the middle of an intense tennis match, only this is so much more awkward and she just wishes she could, slip out without either of them noticing. She starts inching to hallway, but freezes when Oliver catches her eye. His anger at Sara all but disappearing when he looks at her, he looks so apologetic, and once again finds herself rooted in the spot. She can’t let those baby blues control her like this, or she will be completely hopeless in this relationship.

“What I do with Felicity is none of your concern and no where near the same thing.” Oliver scoffs in disbelief, “Besides, you and Nyssa _fucking_ on our kitchen counter isn’t exactly being _discrete_ Sara. Don’t give me that bullshit, you wanted to make a statement, and congratulations you did.”

Felicity can’t help but wince at his tone, when she looks across at Sara, the other woman looks thoroughly chastised. Oliver though continues on clearly not waiting for Sara to apologize, which Felicity suspects would just go on deaf ears anyway, not that she blames him. Despite her discomfort at being privy to this obvious personal conversation, Felicity is beginning to see Oliver in completely different light. His initially disposition when they first met, making so much sense, now that she has finally met the reason behind it. Oliver takes a step back and breathes out deeply, his fingers tugging lightly at the tips of his hair, as he looks at Sara clearly exhausted with their argument.

“Why are you here, Sara?” he asks tiredly, “I know its not for us to hash things out for the millionth time. My shiny new girlfriend, as you said, has heard so much more than I wanted her to. Or is _that_ why you’re here? You knew I was planning on talking to her, so you decided to _butt_ in and have your say? That’s why you are here, not to drop of things for Katie; you could have done that tomorrow when you dropped _her_ off. No, you came today cause you knew there would be a chance that Felicity would be here. To tell her _your_ side of things.” Oliver accuses as he inches protectively towards Felicity.

She looks across at Sara and she can see the moment the other woman loses her resolve, her eyes are slightly downcast and she’s looking at Oliver in a new light, almost like a new revelation is revealed to her.

“Laurel said you were different, I just didn’t think it would be _that_ different.” Sara says thoughtfully. She releases a deep sigh, “Look Ollie, I’m tired of fighting with you over this. Every time we see each other, we go at it, like it’s that morning all over again. Despite what you may think, I did _not_ come over here to scare your girlfriend away. I wanted to meet her before she met Katie, and I was not sure if you would follow that particular request, so I took it into my own hands. I’ve seen those bimbos you’ve been with in the last 6 months. We’ve had this particular argument more times than I can count, I know you would never jeopardise Katie’s safety for _anything_ , but for my frame of mind I needed to meet her on _my_ terms.”

For the first time since her crass comment, Sara turns to address Felicity, “I’m sorry about all this, when I decided to come over here, I never planned on airing all my dirty laundry out to a practical stranger.”

Felicity shrugs her shoulders, “You should see my house, I got dirty clothes strewn all over the place, looks like a laundromat exploded… _and_ I just took your sentence _literal_ , even though I fully knew you were referring to your past with Oliver, it sounded funny in my head, but many things seem that way, when they really are _not._ I’m not really doing a good job of assuring you that I’m _not_ a bimbo am I…I’m just going to stop talking.”

“You’re cute.” Sara says with a slight up turn of her lips, the barest hint of a smile, surprising Felicity to say the least. “Ollie, she’s cute.”

“Sara.”

Sara just rolls her eyes at Oliver’s warning tone, but turns back to Felicity, “The fact that you’re still standing here after witnessing one of Oliver and I’s many, _many_ fights shows me that you actually do care for him and him for _you_. Otherwise he would have sent you packing the moment I walked in here. That really isn’t my concern anymore; my concern is for my daughter. You really do seem as nice as my sister claims you to be, the fact that she’s met you should be a testament enough, but I had meet you myself.”

“Your sister?” Felicity stutters out in confusion, then it dawns on her, “Laurel.”

Sara nods in confirmation, “Yup, that’s how Ollie and I actually met, at Laurel and Tommy’s wedding, but I suspect Ollie would actually want to tell you those stories on his own…and his eyebrow is twitching in that way that tells me I’m 5 seconds away from another outburst. It was nice to meet you Felicity. Ollie, Katie and I will be by tomorrow morning, do _not_ oversleepagain.”

With those final words, she tugs her handbag over her shoulder and struts out of the apartment, her blond hair bouncing in her wake. Felicity turns to Oliver her eyes wide, her mind still trying to process that entire encounter. Oliver walks the short few strides and collapses onto the couch, his face in his hand as he groans loudly.

“So…. _Ollie.”_

_“Please_ don't call me that.” Oliver begs tiredly, lowering his hands to look up at her and Felicity knows his pleading look is more than just that particular request.

“Trust me I won’t” Felicity’s nose wrinkles in disgust, “I think I threw up a bit in my mouth actually, just saying it.”

Oliver barks out a laugh at her words, grabbing her hand and tugging her onto the couch next to him, “I’m so sorry about all of that. Sara just has a way of pushing all my buttons.”

“It's to be expected, given everything that's happened between the two of you.” Felicity says thoughtfully.

She angles her body to face him, her back resting against the armrest of the couch. She tosses a foot over his lap, grinning when her robe slips open, revealing the entire length of her bare leg. Oliver groans in approval, his hands already going to her calf, massaging it softly. Felicity is about to put a stop to his treacherous thoughts, but yelps in surprise when the rooster sound blares through the apartment, yet again.

“Blimey!” Felicity squeaks out, hand going to her chest, she looks at Oliver with wide eyes, “Round two?”

“Pizza.” Oliver corrects with a shake of his head, he squeezes her calf one last time before he slips off of the couch heading to the front door.

“That’s it. I'm changing that damn doorbell before I leave.” Felicity grumbles to herself.

She’s about to tell Oliver exactly what she thinks of his best friend’s sense of humour, but her jaw drops on seeing Oliver walking into the living room, pizza box in one hand, his sweatpants riding dangerously low on hips, reminding Felicity exactly what he’s _not_ wearing underneath it. The smell of melted cheese and pepperoni only heighten her senses.

Oliver almost comes to a complete stop on seeing her lust filled expression, “I'm no sure if that look is for me, or for the pizza. It's probably best for my ego if I didn't know.”

Felicity grins widely as she tucks her foot under her leg and waves him _and_ the pizza over eagerly. She licks her lips and releases a soft moan as the smell of melted cheese mixed with tomato sauce hits her noses, “Both, _definitely_ both. Nothing is hotter than a sexy, half naked man bring me pizza.”

She eagerly flips the lid on the pizza box, not even waiting for Oliver to get comfortable on the couch. She grabs a slice of pizza, and grins sheepishly when Oliver offers her a napkin. When she bites into the gooey goodness she moans loudly in pleasure, savouring each bite. The lack sound coming from Oliver has her pausing mid bite and she finally opens her eyes to see Oliver gaping at her in a mixture of surprise and want. Felicity grins sheepishly as she wipes some of the sauce from her lips.

“I _really_ love pizza.”

“You made eating _pizza_ , sexual.” Oliver blurts out in disbelief, his cheeks then reddening in embarrassment.

Usually, Felicity is the one that can’t seem to put a pause on her thoughts before she blurts things out. She smiles coyly at him, nudging his thigh with her toe, “Eat your pizza, Queen.”

They sit in relative silence for a moment, both of them enjoying their pizza. Felicity takes her napkin and wipes her mouth before she clears her throat, gaining Oliver’s attention, “So…Sara.”

“Sara.” Oliver repeats with a dejected sigh and Felicity can tell already that he’s slightly reluctant to speak about it, despite everything she just witnessed.

He places the pizza box on coffee table, tossing the crust inside before he wipes his own mouth and then turns his entire body towards Felicity. He has one knee slightly bent, touching Felicity’s bare one, reminding Felicity that she is dressed in only his robe. Oliver raises his arm over the back of the couch and for the first time Felicity notices his scar along his collarbone to the tip of his shoulder.

“Does it still hurt?” Felicity asks softly, finger tentatively brushing along the pink, rough skin.

“Sometimes.” Oliver says truthfully, eyes mesmerized by the movement of her fingertips, “The cut has healed but I still get some stiffness in my muscles and at the joint itself. Diggle has been working with me to get better range of motion.”

Felicity hums in acknowledgement her fingers still running lightly against his skin, she looks up at him thoughtfully, “You don’t get to see Katie as much as you would like to, do you?”

Oliver sighs softly at her question, he leans his head against the back of the couch, his cheek nuzzling the palm of her hand, “No and I only have myself to blame really.”

“Do you think you should have stopped Sara from going off to…it was a dancing thing, right?” Felicity asks, her nose wrinkling in thought as she tries to recall the conversation.

Oliver nods in confirmation, “I could never have stopped her, and both of us knew that. Travelling is in Sara’s bones. The reason we had only met at Laurel and Tommy’s wedding is because Sara was off in Europe the past two years. When we started fooling around, we didn’t want to tell her sister.”

“No labels right?” Felicity offers, no judgement in her tone. She lays her head on the couch mimicking his posture, tucking her hand under her own cheek, her glasses slightly askew.

“Yea, it made no sense to either of us.” Oliver says truthfully, “She was back state side, but she was between San Fran and NYC, wherever her dance took really. Then one day about a month after Jamie was born, Sara called me in tears and we both decided to try and make it work for Katie.”

“What changed?” Felicity licks her lips, unsure how to point out Sara’s accusation of Oliver checking out of the relationship before Nyssa was in the equation, “I mean before the whole thing with her girlfriend. Sara’s dancing?”

Oliver sighs at her words, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly, despite the fact that they both know he only just woke up less than an hour ago, “That and football. I’ve been burnt before, in the girlfriend department with the media in college, and not that I thought _Sara_ was like that, but with Katie I wanted to keep them away from all of it. Sara felt like I always had one foot out the door because of it.”

“Were you?” Felicity asks cautiously, “I mean you guys went from a friends with benefits deal to raising a kid, no one would blame you for being hesitant. You can still be a father and not be in a relationship with Katie’s mom. It seems to be working out so far. You are obviously a great father, Oliver.”

Oliver scoffs at her words, sitting up in the process, “You haven’t even _seen_ me with Katie.”

“I don’t need to,” Felicity implores, she grabs his hand pulling his focus back on her, “I’ve seen how protective you are of her. We’ve been dating for a month now and I only found out about Katie _today_. Sure, I had my suspicions, but my imagination can run away with me at times so I couldn’t be sure. I don’t need to see you with you daughter, to know that you love her, Oliver. Sara and you _clearly_ still have issues, but she obviously values your judgement.”

“So all those dinners and lunches _were_ dates then.” Oliver teases. Felicity knows he’s deflecting, but she lets him for the moment.

“Are you telling me you have more moves up your sleeve than what I’ve already seen?” Felicity asks coyly.

Her toe that’s pressed against the warmth of his skin, tugs lightly on the waistband of his sweatpants and she giggles when Oliver grabs her bare foot squeezing it lightly. He looks at her with a teasing grin, but then his eyes focus on something behind her head and she can see the light dim in his eyes and his expression sobers. She glances to the back of her and sees a tiny purple hoodie haphazardly thrown on the armchair. She looks back at Oliver and scoots closer to him, puts one of her legs over his so that she is practically in his lap, without actually sitting on top of him, grateful that he doesn’t push her away. They may have been somewhat dating the past month or so, but this is so far out of their comfort zone of exchange teasing words and meaningful looks.

She cups his cheek rubbing her thumb against the coarse bit of hair against his jawbone, his voice breaking slightly as he speaks, “What if I messed up?”

“Messed up how?” Felicity asks in confusion, “With Katie?”

“I wasn’t around. Sara was travelling across the country and I made time to visit them when I could; both my mother and my sister visited them as well. Katie knows her family; she knows all of us. She knows who I am.”

“I’m not seeing the problem, Oliver.” Felicity says tentatively. When he glares at her though and tries to move, she pushes her foot into the couch anchoring him under her legs. She levels him with a hard look for good measure, only releasing her hold when he deflates. “Talk to me, Oliver. This is what us trying to figure out what we are; is about right?”

“When Sara and Katie moved back to Starling, I thought this was it, you know?” Oliver says softly, “My chance to be there for Katie, but then Sara and _Nyssa_ …”

“Oliver, you don’t need to be _with_ Sara to be apart of Katie’s life. I don’t think Sara would keep Katie from you.” Felicity reasons. She understands that he’s struggling explaining himself, and doesn’t bother to point out that pursuing things with her basically contradicts his words.

“She did though.” Oliver admits as he rubs his neck uncomfortably almost ashamed. His actions have Felicity thinking back on his conversation with Sara and the tentative, almost hopeful words at Katie spending the night.

“Oliver?”

“I did not react to Sara cheating well.” Oliver offers. His words not surprising Felicity, given the reason for their arrangement in the first place, but she suspects Oliver doesn’t need her to point out the obvious. “She’s right, I lashed out in the only way I knew how, I was partying and drinking way too much and she didn’t want me around Katie. Honestly, she was right, to keep me away from Katie. My shoulder injury did not help things either, I was not the best company back then, not the best influence for my 3 year old daughter.”

“What changed?” Felicity asked curiously. She remembers the guy she met weeks ago in that stuffy gym office, he was not pleasant in the slightest.

“You did actually,” This time he looks sheepish, almost embarrassed, “On our first date, you mentioned something about losing everyone if I didn’t be careful and I realized I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t lose Katie. I decided to take this work thing seriously, show Sara I was changing, I convinced her early on I met someone. Naturally, she thought I was just getting back at her, at first.”

“ _That’s_ why you were so pleasant the second time around.” Felicity teases lightly, “You turned a new leaf and needed my help in more than just football.”

“You’re not upset?” Oliver asks in surprise.

“Oliver, this entire relationship was initially based on us using each other for our careers, nothing wrong with you using it to prove you settled down, so that your ex will take you seriously. I mean, that’s not the case anymore, right?”

She’s fishing, she knows she is, but she can’t help but let her own insecurities seep in after everything that has happened this morning. They barely even established that there was more to this ruse they set up, then his ex comes in and turns things upside down and part of her wonders if this, _them,_ is still just a ruse to convince his ex-girlfriend that he’s settled down and can take on more responsibility in his daughter’s life.

“Of course.” Oliver answers immediately.

His words don’t comfort her this time; Felicity tries to avoid eye contact with him, but Oliver is having none of that and he places his finger at the tip of her chin, forcing her to look at him, “Hey. Talk to me Felicity.”

“I would have agreed to meet her, you know…Sara, that is. If you needed me to…to convince her, I mean.” She’s fumbling with her words, she knows it but Oliver is looking at her with soft eyes and she’s beginning to wonder if she’s overthinking yet again.

“Felicity, I want you to meet my daughter as my _girlfriend_.” Oliver speaks softly, his thumb lightly brushing over her bottom lip, “You are important to me and I want you to meet the most important girl in my life. I would never have let you meet Katie otherwise, I don’t want to lie to my daughter.”

“I wouldn’t want to meet her under that circumstance either,” Felicity says truthfully, “Real girlfriend is definitely better than fake girlfriend.”

Oliver grins at her words leaning forward, the faces inches a part, “I prefer real girlfriend as well.”

“Yea.”

Felicity sighs out in content just as Oliver presses his lips against hers. She hums in approval her hands going around his neck, playing with the sparse bit of hair there both of them moaning softly.

The sudden chirping of her phone has Felicity pausing, its one of her alarms, but Oliver’ grip around her waist tightens as he begins to pepper kisses along her jawbone and down her neck, “Ignore it.”

“I can’t.” Felicity giggles at his growl, but then gasps when his teeth sink into her pulse point, “Oliver, I have my workshop at 6.”

“Skip it.” Oliver grumbles against her skin, his stubbles scrapping against her collarbone. He begins to move lower, pushing the robe aside to kiss the curve of her breast encased in the deep blue lace of her bra.

“ _Oliver.”_

His name comes out more like a sigh than protest, her fingers now tugging on his hair, but not enough to pull him off, despite the fact that she should be doing just that. She lets herself get lost of the feeling of his warm, wet tongue on her skin, but groans when her phone chirps again.

“I can’t skip it.” She whines out, as his tongue circles her nipple, having already pushed her bra aside and she didn’t even realize. “One of the producers…uh…Chicago… _oh!_...sitting in on the workshop.”

“Fuck.” Oliver hisses against her nipple, his teeth dragging across the sensitive bud before he releases it with an audible pop. “You can’t miss that.”

“ _No._ ” Felicity whines petulantly unsure if she’s agreeing with his words or protesting at _stopping_. She collapses back against the arm rest, her arm dropping across her flushed face dramatically, “ _Why_ , today of all days. I do these stupid workshops every _other_ day.”

Oliver laughs lightly at her tone grabbing her hand and pulling her back into a sitting position. He gently tugs the cup of her bra over her exposed breast and then tugs the robe closed, his gesture making her heart swell with affection, “C’mon, you can’t let putting up with my sorry ass for the past month to be for nothing.”

“I can think of more enjoyable things to do with that ass.” Felicity quips, smiling cheekily at Oliver, her fingers trailing along his torso and moving to the body part in question.

“ _Felicity_.” Oliver calls out warning, but doesn’t stop her wandering hands.

“Fine.” Felicity says with a dramatic pout, “Next time, no interruptions. Capisce?”

Oliver laughs but nods eagerly as he trails behind her as she heads to his room to get her clothes. He sits on the edge of the bed watching silently as she slips into her clothes. It’s such an intimate moment, for two people who have yet to see each other naked.

“Hey, Felicity?”

Felicity pauses in front of the mirror, her hairband in her mouth and her hands in her hair as she looks across at him curiously. Oliver tentative look as her pausing, allowing her blond hair to fall on her shoulders and she tugs the hairband from the lips.

“Can I come?”

She wrinkles her nose at his question, her gaze automatically moving to his crotch, “Are you asking me if you can masturbate?”

“What? _No!”_ Oliver eyes widen comically at her question, “I meant your _workshop_. Can I _accompany_ to your workshop? _Jesus_ Felicity.”

“Sorry!” Felicity squeaks in embarrassment, “My mind doesn’t really cooperate with my mouth at times.”

“I noticed.” Oliver quips, shaking his head in amusement. He then looks at her expectantly, clearly still waiting for an answer.

“Oh yes! I didn’t think you cared for these musicals, Rent isn’t exactly your cup of tea…not that you would drink tea…you’re more of a coffee guy, all rich and creamy…” Felicity groans at her words, this time Oliver just laughs in amusement. “Why don’t you ever stop me when I do that?”

“It’s fun,” Oliver teases.

“Meet me at my place in an hour.” Felicity says with a huff but takes a step towards and presses a kiss to his lips briefly. She slips out of his grasp before he could deepen it; smile still playing on her lips as she gathers her things.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, between finals and moving apartments I've been busy. I do have time now though, so my plan is to return to weekly updates of either Monday or Tuesday :)

Unfortunately for Felicity and Oliver, next time never came that week. Neither did she for that matter, Felicity grumbles to herself as she thinks about the last time she and Oliver were able to spend sometime together. Between her rehearsals for the small play she’s in and her additional workshops Felicity has barely had time to breathe for the last week. Oliver himself has been upping his training in hopes to play in the friendly game between Starling City Seahawks and the Central City Canaries that takes place at the end of the month. Suffice to say, Felicity has not seen Oliver all week and she’s beginning to get anxious as she gets more time to herself, to mull over Oliver’s confession about his daughter.

Suspecting the existence of said daughter, and actual confirmation that she does in fact exist, is a bit more concerning than Felicity originally thought. The fact that she has not been able to spend time with Oliver does not help matters either. She’s never been good with too much time on her hands; her imagination has a way of running away with her.

Case in point she’s currently pacing the small confines of her kitchen _finally_ catching Barry up on the latest happenings with Oliver and more specifically her current freak out. She has her finger in her mouth as she nibbles on her nail nervously looking across at Barry expectantly, but Barry is looking at her almost disinterested, more focused on his notes in front of him.

“Barry!”

“So he has a kid, we figured this out weeks ago.” Barry says with a wave of his hand, eyes still pinned on the document in his hand. “I’m not sure why you’re freaking out this much, _you_ were the one to figure out who Katie was. Tell me more about the mother; is she one of those supermodels? He looks like the kind of guy to only go for supermodels.”

Felicity whips around looking at him incredulously as she gestures to herself. Barry’s only response is to raise his hands and shrug his shoulders, “You’ve seen the bimbos on the magazines _and_ the unfortunate Youtube video.”

Felicity shudders remembering the nightclub paparazzi video of Oliver’s flavour of the week, the brunette hanging onto his arm claiming to love football and love to watch the shirtless guys try to get the ball over the net. It’s safe to say that Barry is not _wrong_ in his assessment.

 “Sara is a dancer, a little taller than me.” Felicity says quickly. She slips onto the stool at the kitchen counter, palms slapping the granite insistently, “That’s so not the point Barry. Oliver has a _daughter_. This is _not_ good, I don’t want to involve a little person into this.”

She slides off the stool the nervous bubbling in her stomach as she begins to pace yet again, “I _knew_ I should have never listened to you. I should have never agreed to this ruse. Putting myself out there like that was a _terrible_ idea and now there is a _child_ involved. If something happens to her I would never forgive myself. Bloody hell, Oliver will have my neck. Barry, I think we need to call it quits.”

“You’re freaking out...”

“Yes! Join me, would you?” Felicity exclaims throwing up her arms in the air in exasperation.

“You’re freaking out _because_ of the alert last week.” Barry says calmly as he takes a step towards her.  He grabs her forearms and ushers her to a nearby stool, “We’ll get back to the fact that you went MIA on me for a week and fail to mention that you got alert until _this_ morning _,_ another time. Let’s focus on the current problem. Did your search come up empty?”

Felicity breathed in deeply, accepting the glass of water Barry hands her, “Yes, I told you that, it was just the Charity event was bigger than I expected and made _international_ news. I told you this was a bad idea. This _career_ is a bad idea; musical theatre hardly makes international news unless it’s for the Tony’s and even then it’s not that big of a deal unless you’re a musical theatre _fan_. A _football_ player though, can reach international news. I should have never let you convince me this publicity stunt was worth it. I was comfortable with doing Disney princesses and magical Nannies. I can be Belle next, or maybe Jasmine, I heard there is an Aladdin rival in the works.”

Barry gives her an incredulous look at the Jasmine suggestion; Felicity just rolls her eyes in response, “ _Fine_. Ariel could be fun; red hair may be a good _new_ look for me.”

“Did you not tell me that the article itself was just a blurb in a trashy magazine and they didn’t even spell his name right? Much less even have a _picture_ of the two of you?” Barry points out calmly.

Felicity scowls at him in annoyance, she hates when he’s all logical, she just wants a moment to freak out, “Yes, _but_ I don’t like playing with fire, you _know_ that. I told you doing this publicity stunt was not a good idea.”

“Did you not speak to the casting _director_ of Chicago last week?” Barry counters yet again, “Did he not _personally_ ask you to audition for Velma?”

“Yes.” Felicity admits begrudgingly, “Don’t use logic on me Barry Allen, not when I’m trying to freak out.”

“Irrationally.” Barry corrects with an amused grin.

He pats her shoulder in what _should_ be a reassuring gesture, but Felicity can see the teasing smile tugging at his lips and she just huffs not amused. She has _legit_ concerns about something that could very well blow up in her face and affect _other_ people. Felicity puts her hand to her mouth in horror as she thinks about something happening to Oliver or his daughter, all because she was not careful, “Okay, nope. I’m going to break up with him. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to him; nip it in the bud before it can go further. Yes, it’s better that way.”

“It’s a bit soon for a public break up. I thought we agreed ending things would wait a few months once the football season starts up.”

“What?” Felicity startles, almost as though she forgot that Barry was still sitting there, “Oliver’s team has a friendly game with the Canaries; we can’t end things till after that.”

“Felicity, you _just_ said you were going to break up with him _tomorrow_.” Barry says in exasperation.

“ _Oh_.” Felicity stutters out nervously, not realizing that she was talking out loud earlier. She really needs to work on that.

“What were you talking about then?” Barry inquires. He narrows his eyes with a scrutiny she is use to but overall _hates_ because it usually means he’s reading her like an open book, “You said _break_ up, didn’t you? Not end but _break_ _up_. Felicity Smoak, did you _fuck_ your fake boyfriend?”

“Fuck is such a crass word.” Felicity grumbles, but at Barry’s scandalized expression she quickly raises her hand, “I did not sleep with him! Not for a lack of trying though.”

“ _What_?”

“Damn my brain.” Felicity groans slapping tapping her head, almost like she’s reprimanding it.  She looks at Barry, who looks at though he’s just about ready to burst out of the seams if she doesn’t explain, “It’s not what it sounds like. Well it is _kinda,_ but I didn’t _throw_ myself at Oliver, just that we got interrupted before anything _good_ could happen _twice,_ might I add. I haven’t seen my boyfriend in a week and I’m cranky, I’m officially _that_ girl.”

“ _Boyfriend_?” Barry all but squeaks out, eyes widening the size of saucers, “When the hell did that happen? I _knew_ I wasn’t imagining things. You light up like a Christmas tree around this guy.”

Felicity grins sheepishly, her best friend does know her best after all, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. We’re still figuring out things, _kinda_. We haven’t seen each other all week, but we talk a _lot_ on the phone.”

“How very high school of you.” Barry says dryly. He laughs loudly when Felicity tosses a kitchen towel at him but it only sails right pass his head, “Hold up, does that mean Oliver _knows_.”

 “ _No!_ ” Felicity blanches, “Nope, never happening. I like him Barry. I _really_ like him. If I told him what happened…what I _did_ … it would ruin things. Things are just starting between us; I can’t scare him away like that. This is not something I can just tell anyone, you know that. _You_ only found out because of what happened in a few years ago.”

Barry shudders at the memory, “Yes, lets not think about 2011 _almost_ incident, but Felicity it’s been _five_ years, it’s time you stopped hiding from your past and start planning for your future. Are you going to live the rest of your life hiding from a threat you don’t even know is there?”

Felicity sighs knowing Barry makes a valid point, as always, this is after all not the first time they’ve had this conversation in the past 5 years. The thing is, she’s been looking over her shoulder for so long she’s not sure she even knows _how_ to live without that constant fear in the back of her mind, “Maybe you’re right. It has been _five_ years of silence, nothing to concern myself over. You’re right.”

Barry collapses dramatically against the table, hand to his chest, “Am I hearing things?”

“Shut it.” Felicity grumbles half-heartedly at his antics, “I’m still not telling him though.”

 Barry sobers up at her comment and looks at her seriously, “You tell him when you feel comfortable opening that can of worms. For now just enjoy yourself, Felicity. It’s about time you had some _fun_ and stopped looking over your shoulder all the time. Oliver seems like a decent guy, or at least Tommy can’t stop talking about how much of an influence _you_ have been on him, so clearly you’re good for each other. ”

Felicity smiles at his words she wraps her arms around him, “I knew I kept you around for a reason, Barry.”

“If it wasn’t for me you would still be walking dogs, while trying to build your own super computer out of tin cans and coconuts.”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at his words, “Where the hell would I find a coconut in Starling? Tin cans would work for a _phone_.”

Barry eyes widen eagerly at the thought, Felicity can see the wheels turning in his head already. She shakes her head in exasperation knowing Barry’s love for crazy experiments; she always said he should have been a scientist. 

“Barry _no_. Caitlin would kill us.” Felicity warns. Her roommate is very lenient about Felicity’s ridiculous security system, not knowing the reason behinds it, but she draws the line when Barry and Felicity try to blow up things in the backyard.

“Caitlin, will do what?” Caitlin asks curiously as she walks into kitchen her lab coat thrown over her arm and her blue scrubs stained red on the chest and sleeves.

“Oh gross, is that _blood_. Aren’t you supposed to throw that out if it’s a hazard?” Barry asks, tactfully deflecting Caitlin’s question.

“Wanna see?” Caitlin taunts. She grabs the scrub shirt tugging it off and tosses it at Barry, both she and Felicity laugh as Barry yelps in surprise. Barry is not too fond of blood, any kind of it. “Kid with a bloody nose in the ER, wouldn’t sit still.”

Felicity wrinkles her nose in disgust and points at the tiny hand print on the inside of Caitlin’s long sleeve top, “Gross.”

“Not another one.” Caitlin sighs in exasperation as she tugs at the shirt, “This is the fifth one this _month_. I can’t keep replacing shirts on an intern salary! Intern grunt work is the _worst_.”

“That’s why you live with me, so your paycheque can go towards replacing items of clothing that has more bodily fluids, I’d care to know about.” Felicity teases.

They both know it's so much more than that, however. When Felicity first moved to the country with no job and no place to stay Caitlin was a med student working at the coffee shop to make ends meet and she offered her couch to Felicity, no questions asked. Now that it's almost five years later and Felicity is doing well in her career, while Caitlin is just barely starting out, the newly minted doctor stays with Felicity rent free for all those months Caitlin did the same for her.

Felicity wrinkles her nose as she sees a questionable stain on the pants of Caitlin’s leg,  “I’m thinking we need a new rule of you tossing these things out before you come home. There is _something_ on your leg and I don’t want to know why its that _green_ … that’s just _disgusting_ Cait.”

Caitlin just grins and opens her arms to Felicity, “C’mon you know you wanna hug.”

“ _No_.” Felicity yelps and runs away from her questionably, smelling friend, “Blimey, you stink, Cait.”

Caitlin just laughs and makes a beeline for the bowl of fruit on the counter, stepping a little too close to Felicity for her liking, and cackling when Felicity squeals out in disgust. Felicity silently contemplates what she’ll change the Netflix account password to as a form of petty roommate revenge. She knows fully well that Caitlin is currently making her way through the X-Files. Sweet revenge indeed.

* * *

 

Oliver stands in front of the large stone-brick house, the white garage door almost glistening in the spring sunlight. When Sara moved back to Starling after her tour eight months ago, Oliver never expected her to move into the suburbs of all places. After their split, Oliver naively assumed Sara would move in with Laurel and Tommy, rationally he knew she and Nyssa would find a place together, eventually. He just never expected it to be located in the suburbs. He knows now that Nyssa got a teaching position at one of the private elementary schools and this house, this gorgeous two storey stone-brick house, was part of the _excellent_ package.  They have been living here since the previous summer, but it took Oliver nearly seven months to even pluck up the courage and come to this house, part of him never wanting to see his ex move on, or see how well his daughter fit into Sara’s new life without him.

He knows he’s partially to blame for everything that happened, or didn’t happen, as the case may be between them, but seeing his previous flighty ex-girlfriend who could never stay in one city for more than a year, settle in so nicely into her new home and new life just ate at him more than he cared to admit. He sees both Sara and Nyssa’s cars parked outside and releases a deep sigh. He steels himself and walks towards the front door, pressing the doorbell firmly, a grin blossoms on his face as soon as he hears the excited squeals of his daughter. No matter what his issues with Sara and Nyssa, the sound of Katie’s laughter will always warm his heart.

The front door slams open; luckily catching on the magnet hatch before it slaps against the wall and Katie stands dressed in only her underwear and ninja turtle long sleeve pyjama top. Her blond hair is hanging from a messy pony and Oliver is pretty sure there is syrup drying on the centre of the one of the turtle’s head.

“Daddy!” Katie yells again barrelling into him arms wide as Oliver gathers her in his arms. She squeals in delight when Oliver tosses her into the air as he steps into foyer, toeing off his sneakers, making Oliver smile.

“Hey ladybug.” Oliver greets affectionately, kissing her cheek and earning loud squeals in protest.

“Daddy, your beard is all scratchy.” Katie protests her tiny fingers poking at his cheek, “Why it not be soft like your hair on your heads?”

Oliver laughs as he hooks her small form onto his waist, her tiny legs wrapping around him automaticall, “It doesn’t really work like that, bug.”

“Katherine!” Sara voice is loud and booming as she scrambles down the stairs a towel thrown over her shoulder and still in her own pyjamas, “We talked about this, you can’t answer the front door without me or Nyssa.”

“But its Daddy.” Katie replies innocently, head resting on Oliver’s shoulder as she looks at her mother with round blue eyes. Oliver grins at her response, but bites back his smile when Sara levels him with a glare.

“Mommy is right bug, you can’t go opening the door if you don't know who it is.”

“Sorry.” Katie says with a dramatic sigh, her shoulders slumped forward.

Sara looks across at Oliver in exasperation and Oliver is almost 100% certain that Sara is blaming _him_ for Katie’s comment, “C’mon bath time.”

“But Daddy’s here.” Katie whines, as she clings to Oliver’s neck, burying her face in his shoulder, “No bath. Me goes with Daddy now.”

“You have to bathe first.” Sara insists as she walks down the last few steps towers them arms out to take Katie, but Katie grip on Oliver’s neck tightens.

“No, Daddy no go.” Katie insists.

Sara facial expression falters and Oliver’s heart plummets at the ramifications of their daughter’s words. He places a kiss on Katie’s head, “Hey bug, I'm not going anywhere. I came to pick you up, remember? We’re going to spend the whole day together, and then later we’re gonna pick up Aunty Thea from school. You want to see Aunty Thea, don't you?”

“Yes,” Comes Katie’s muffled reply, her face still buried in Oliver’s neck.

“Well, you gotta be all clean to see Aunty Thea, baby.” Sara says trying to coax Katie out of Oliver’s arms, but their daughter is having done of that.

“No.” Katie says stubbornly, her voice wobbling and Oliver just knows she's on the break of crying.

Sara looks at Oliver pleadingly, gesturing to the child with the tilt of her head, “Hey Katie, why don't you go pick out your swimsuit. We’ll go back home and have fun in the pool for a bit and then bath time? It’s warm out today for the pool.”

At the word pool Katie pulls back looking at him with wide excited eyes, “We play in yours big bathtub, Daddy with bubbles and stuff, _after_ pool time doh, nots before.”

Oliver laughs as she clarifies his words, ensuring she gets her allotted pool time, he’s pretty sure Laurel would be proud at the mini-lawyer in the making. Katie eagerly slips down Oliver’s torso and scampers off up the stairs, hand and feet slapping against the carpet, her little tush swaying in excitement. Oliver laughs as he calls out after her, “Careful on the stairs, and don't forget your pants!”

He grins proudly to himself at diffusing the situation but his smile falters on the glare that Sara is levelling him with, her hands on her hips, “Why must you always make me out to be the bad guy? She is covered in syrup and needs to wash her hair. I don't like to do it at night otherwise it won't dry before she falls asleep.”

“I got her to get ready.” Oliver protests, “I don't want her to think I'm abandoning her, Sara”

“Then you tell her you’ll be here _after_ her bath, not forgo her routine all together to go to the pool. What if tomorrow she wants to go in the pool before bath time and it becomes a thing? You’re not the one that will have to argue with her _every_ morning, when she starts school.”

“Hey! Wow! It's one time Sara! I’ll shampoo and condition her hair once we’re finished.” Oliver promises, “I told you I can take her for a few more nights, once we get her into school, hell I can do it now as well. I know her routine inside out. I won't disrupt the important things like meal times, nap and bedtime. You know that.”

“I don't like the idea of her moving back and forth like this.” Sara grumbles.

“We'll deal with it.” Oliver snaps, her implications not lost to him, “I’m not going anywhere and I've more than proven that I can take care of her on my own. We’ve been over this before, Sara.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. Nyssa is sick with the flu and I forgot I promised Katie chocolate chip pancakes this morning,” Sara says with a tired sighs wiping her face in the towel on her shoulder, “It's been a long morning and it's not even 9 am yet. I also wanted to know if you could take Katie for the weekend, from Friday morning.”

Oliver pauses mid stride into the living room to look at her with wide eager eyes, almost unable to comprehend her words, “Weekend? As in for two days?”

Sara laughs as she picks up a few scattered toys on the floor, tossing them into the toy box in the corner of the room, “Technically, it will be three days. Nyssa has some teacher’s conference in DC and I thought instead of taking Katie with us, you’d…”

“I’ll do it.” Oliver says eagerly, “I can take her from Thursday night if you want. I have my usual physio session in the afternoon, but I can ask Diggle if I can move it earlier, if you need me to take her earlier.”

Sara shakes her head with a laugh, “My dad wants to take the girls to the museum on Thursday. Laurel and I think he’s reliving the past with Jamie and Katie.”

“Except Jamie is more like you and Katie is like Laurel.” Oliver says in amusement. He then turns serious, bringing up a topic they haven’t discussed since Sara crashed his place a week ago. “I want Katie to meet Felicity this weekend.”

“Okay, what do you guys have planned?” Sara asks, at Oliver’s affronted look she rolls her eyes, “I'm just making conversation, Ollie.”

“I'm not sure yet, I haven't asked Felicity.” Oliver says sheepishly, “I have to plan out the three days to do things with Katie and well Sunday is that dinner my mother keeps putting off for some reason or the other. I think Thea’s boyfriend is trying to avoid it.”

“Poor dude, if only he knew there is no avoiding Moira Queen.” Sara says with a knowing laugh and Oliver doesn't even bother to point out that his mother actually has a reason for not liking Sara.

“Daddy! I'm ready! I'm ready!” Katie yells excitedly both Sara and Oliver eyes widen in surprise as Katie comes barrelling down the stairs. She has her floatie around her waist, not blown up so she's basically dragging it with her. Her pyjamas are no more and in place she has on her bikini top on backwards and the bottoms on inside out.

“Baby, what are you doing?” Sara asks with a laugh already on her knees as she tugs limp floaties off of Katie’s arms and the one around her waist over her head.

“I cants blow them up.” Katie says with a huff arms out stretched as she allows her mother to help her, “I tries, but my face hurted…like this.”

She puffs out her face at her parents her pale cheeks turning red. Oliver chuckles as she folds the floaties into a neat pile laying them on the couch, “You have your other floaties at my house and I’ll blow those up for you. You have to put on a dress and a jacket before you go outside though.”

“But Daddy, you says its warm for the pool.” Katie insists, she steps into her bottoms once Sara has turned it inside out for her, “So I can wears my swimsuit now.”

She says it so matter of fact, that Oliver is unsure how to even respond to her logic. Sara though just shakes her head at his blunder and grabs Katie’s bag already pulling out a dress, “Yes, but swimsuits are for the pool, not for everywhere. Hands up.”

Katie responds automatically allowing her to pull the flora dress over her head, and she grumbles as her mother starts putting her hair up in one, “Mommy.”

“Almost finished.” Sara promises. She smooth’s out the dress and smiles brightly at Katie, “Already to go, first take Daddy upstairs to brush your teeth.”

“I do it myself.” Katie insists.

“Nope, you’ve gotta show Daddy how you do it. You’re staying with Daddy this weekend and he’s not sure.” Sara offers, throwing Oliver a smirk that has Oliver wondering what exactly teeth brushing entail. The last time he was around for that Katie barely had teeth and it was quick and easy for him.

“Daddy, you no brush your teeth?” Katie asks with wide eyes, little nose scrunching up in disgust. She takes him by the hand and begins tugging him up the stairs, “That’s gross Daddy. You must brush your teeth in da morning _and_ da night.”

“Make sure and put a towel over her dress!” Sara calls out already packing away some the stray toys in the living room and slipping one or two in Katie’s travel bag.

“She’s talkin to you, Daddy.” Katie says smartly, looking up at Oliver with a smile, “Cause you donts know what to do. I show you.”

Oliver shakes his head in amusement as he allows her to pull him along the long corridor, “Thank you, bug.”

“Welcomes, Daddy.”

* * *

 

Pain radiates through his arm like a jolt of lighting targeting the exact point of impact at his scar. His eyes water and he slowly breathed through the pain, eyes shooting daggers at the man currently rotating his shoulder.

John Diggle only looks at Oliver in amusement, “Man, I’ve received worse looks than that. I’m surprised I haven't gotten a left hook since you started back weeks ago.”

“I've been told I need or work on my anger issues.” Oliver grunts out he hisses in pain when Diggle reaches a certain angle and Oliver’s shoulder refuses to budge.

“Why are you so stiff today?” Diggle asks with concern. He lowers Oliver’s arm and then presses lightly into Oliver’s rotator cuff muscles, paying close attention to the muscles at Oliver’s back. Oliver groans in pain when he hits a particular large knot. “Two days ago we were getting back more dexterity with the joint.”

Oliver simply grunts allowing Diggle to externally rotate his shoulder. He bites his lip in pain, but does not respond, knowing fully well the reason behind his stiff shoulder is a blue eyed blond that couldn't keep her hands to herself at the basketball game they attended the previous night. There was a moment of heated exchange outside her front door, or more specifically up against Felicity’s front door, but to their great horror - and annoyance if Oliver was honest with himself- Caitlin arrived home at exactly the same time, effectively ending their night.

Diggle snorted at Oliver’s expression, already coming to a conclusion on his own. “I don't wanna know. Lay off the acrobatic stuff, alright? If we’re going to get you in shape for the game next month you’re going to need to not strain your shoulder.”

Oliver nods reluctantly as he begins to open and close his fist in the stress ball Diggle handed him, “Do you think I’ll be able to start training with the team next week?”

Diggle takes a seat on a nearby stool contemplating Oliver’s question, “I think, I should work with you some more, but I can talk to Meryln and we can start off with the usual drills, nothing to over do it. I need you to stick to the daily stretches to help increase your range of motion, though. Tomorrow we’ll start with the kettle bells, 5lbs should be a good starter point.”

“I can lift more than 5 fucking pounds.” Oliver growls in annoyance, this is not how he expected this session to go, not bothering to point out that sometimes he lifts Katie with ease, despite the pain.

“I can attest to that.” Felicity pipes up as she slips into the studio. When her words catch finally catch up with her, her cheeks flame in embarrassment, “Not that I would know _personally,_ I would _never_ allow Oliver to strain himself like that and hinder his injury more. What kind of girlfriend would I be if…”

“Felicity, he already knows I had you up against the wall and…”

“Oliver!”

“I told you I didn’t need the details, Queen.”

Both Diggle and Felicity are glaring at him for very different reasons, but Oliver just simply smirks proudly the both of them. Felicity huffs, her cheeks still a delicate shade of red as she turns to Diggle, pointedly ignoring Oliver for the time being.

“I tried those exercises you recommended, John. They worked wonders, thank you so much.”

“What exercises?” Oliver interjects, his smirk now replaced with a frown as he looks between the two, both of whom are still ignoring him.

“I’m happy to help.” Diggle says brightly a knowing grin now gracing his own features, “If your back acts up again I know something that would help loosen the muscles…”

“No!” Oliver jumps off the examination bed, the stress ball falling from his hand as he takes a deliberate step towards Felicity, “There will be no loosening of muscles for anyone. I can help her with that.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Felicity asks with a huff as she tries to step around him, but Oliver simply moves in front her, “Oliver! I’m trying to have a conversation here!”

Diggle though just looks up at Oliver highly amused at the younger man’s antics and Oliver huffs in annoyance on realizing he fell for it. Diggle just chuckles in amusement, “Sorry man, I gotta find my amusement somehow. All the brooding injured athletes I see everyday, gotta get a laugh in when I can. You were an easy target.”

Oliver simply grunts at the older man’s remark, while Felicity has given up on moving from behind Oliver and instead presses herself up against his back, with her head poking out from behind his arm, her fingernails just barely scraping the skin at his bicep, “Wait, were you jealous?”

The delight in her tone only frustrates Oliver more. He tilts his head to the side and looks down at her with narrowed eyes, which causes her to break out into a soft giggle, “You’re so cute.”

“I’m not _cute_.” Oliver says petulantly.

Felicity in turn just grins and places a soft kiss on his bicep before she comes to stand at his side, arm curling around his waist, “It’s unnecessary, but sweet. John’s married and has a little girl a little older than Katie.”

At her words though, her eyes widen and she looks at Oliver apologetic, knowing that he prefers to keep that information to himself, but Oliver just shakes his head and looks across at Diggle, “My daughter will be four next month. Her mom and I are currently looking for preschools to enrol her in, one of the _many_ things we don’t agree on.”

“I’m just going to the bathroom.” Felicity excuses herself, sending Oliver an apologetic look just before she walks off.

The look of realization crosses Diggle’s face all but a second, before he’s fishing his phone out of his pocket, “I have the one Sarah went to, great school and takes them in at any age, Marlowe Preschool. I’ll text you the number and the principals name.”

“Thanks.” Oliver says softly.

In the two months he’s gotten to know John Diggle, Oliver has come to trust the man with his recovery, surprising himself to say the least. However, it’s not until this moment, the utter lack of judgement that Diggle has at finding out Oliver has a daughter, is when Oliver fully respects the older man. Diggle just nods in understanding as he slips the phone into his pocket, “My suggestion is take Katie with you, let her get a feel of the environment, especially if she’s not use to being around other kids.”

Oliver nods taking the suggestion to heart, “She’s been homeschooled in a sense the last year and half, she’s use to other kids, but not really in the classroom setting.”

“Marlowe does a sit in day for new students. You can spend the day with her as she adjusts to it; most parents hardly ever stay past the first morning session, though. You’ll be fine.”

Oliver laughs softly, rubbing his neck uncomfortably, “Am I that obvious?”

“Man, you’re like a closed book most times.” Diggle says with laugh, he then nods his head towards Felicity, who is now making her way back towards her, “Except when it comes to her, and evidently your daughter. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”

“Physiotherapist by day, psychologist by night?” Oliver jokes as he grabs his forgotten t-shirt, slipping it over his head.

Diggle snorts in amusement, “You whiny athletes don’t pay me half as much as you should.”

“If any of them a half as grumpy as this one, you deserve a medal, John.” Felicity teases as she grabs Oliver’s towel and hoodie tossing them into his open bag on the bed.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Diggle says warmly, the older man simply chuckles when Oliver sends him a glare.

“I don’t like this.” Oliver grumbles, gesturing between the two as he grabs his now closed duffle bag

That only earns twin laughs in response as Felicity tugs Oliver out of the room waving at Diggle, “C’mon Mr. Grumpypants.”

Oliver tries to protest again, but they are already out of the room and making their way down the hallway of the office and out into the busy street. However, before Oliver can get a word in, Felicity grabs him by the soft material of his t-shirt and rises on her toes kissing him soundly on the lips, all thoughts of protest dying on his lips. His duffle bag falls to the floor with a thud, he goes to warp his arms around her waist, but Felicity takes a regrettable step backwards.

At his off put looks she looks at him apologetically, “I’ve got to go.”

“What?” Oliver asks dumbfounded, even more so when she takes a step forward and kisses him briefly on the lips, her fingers clasped tightly around her own duffle bag at her shoulder.

“I’m running late.” Felicity says sheepishly, already walking away, but turning around to face as she talks. “My dance class got shifted to 2:30, I knew you would still here, or at least I hoped you would be. I just wanted to say hi, teasing you with John was an added bonus though.”

“But, our late lunch.” Oliver protests, hands shooting out to grab her own before she can step away further, the other grabbing his fallen duffle bag.

“I know, I know.” Felicity says with a sigh, walking up to him, her head titled upwards to look at him, “It’s my bad this time. I’m sorry. I know we haven’t had a non-PR date all week, but I need to go to this for my dance casting call at the end of the week. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Oliver grunts as she rises on her toes yet again to kiss him briefly, unable to hide his displeasure at their postponed date, “Alright, I was the one that cancelled last time, so I shouldn’t be upset.”

Felicity smirks at the way he bites out the words, clearly thinking otherwise and she sees right through him, “But yet you still are and I know you by now, to know it’s the residual anger from your session with Diggle. Go spend time with your daughter, I’ll call you tonight and we can make plans for tomorrow, we both have the day off. We can _finally_ spend an uninterrupted _day_ together.”

Her proposal has his entire body buzzing with anticipation, but then he’s reminded why he wanted them to have this date in the first place. He tightens his grip on her hand, tugging both of them to the side street and out of the ongoing foot traffic, “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Something wrong?” Felicity asks with concern, her hand going to his bicep.

“Nothing wrong.” Oliver reassures her. He then grins widely, his excitement at his news bubbling up; he resists the childish urge to bounce on the balls of his feet, “Katie is going to spend the weekend with me. Sara is dropping her off Friday morning and she’ll pick her up Sunday night.”

“Oliver! That’s great! Your first full weekend!” Felicity’s eyes widen at his words, she however does bounce on the balls of her feet in excitement and wraps her arms around him, “I’m so excited for you! We can totally postpone our date for next week. I can...”

“I want you to meet her, tomorrow.” Oliver cuts her off.

He grins at the way she falters her mouth opening and closing but no words are coming out. They both agreed that Oliver would focus on Katie for the time being before Felicity met her, but its been less than two weeks since Oliver told Felicity about Katie, and he just can’t wait anymore.

“I thought you wanted to wait?” Felicity asks in confusion.

Oliver shrugs, “I think it’s been long enough. She’s excited to meet you, but if you don’t...”

“I am too.” Felicity interjects quickly. She bites her lip nervously, “I shouldn’t be scared of a three year old right?”

Oliver laughs as he wraps his arms around her shoulders, placing a kiss on her forehead, “You’ve seen the pictures, she’s harmless and if it helps she loves _everyone._ ”

“I want her to like me for _me_ , not like everyone.” Felicity huffs out, “Maybe I should pull out my Elsa costume, that could win me points.”

“What happened to liking you for _you?_ ” Oliver asks in amusement. “Just relax she’s going l…be as enamoured as I am.”

Oliver freezes at his stumble, but Felicity doesn’t call him out on in, instead she presses her lips to his and pulls back with a smile on her face, “Given the fact that you weren’t to pleased with me the first time we met, I’m going to hope that her initial reaction to me is _not_ like yours.”

“Fair enough.” Oliver says with a laugh, he adjusts her glasses on her nose and smiles down at her, “Call me later?”

“Once I don’t pass out from dance class.” Felicity promises.

She kisses him roughly on the lips, fixing her glasses yet again before she sprints off through the backstreet. The street itself opens up a few blocks from her dance studio, and she leaves Oliver standing in the middle of the abandoned street, slightly cursing their rotten luck these past few days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Diggle/Oliver/Felicity interaction, very much need I think. I also left Diggle's daughter name as Sarah cause I just can't change her canon name, so I just changed the spelling and Katie! We finally meet Katie, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter :)


	9. Chapter 9

Felicity walks past the reception area waving at the desk clerk, Danny, who by now is very familiar with her presence in Oliver’s building. She clutches the stuffed elephant to her chest and takes a deep breath as she steps onto to the elevator. She should not be this nervous to meet a three year old. For the last five years she’s met hundreds of kids, this should be no different. Except this is _Oliver’s_ daughter she is meeting; her opinion matters to Felicity.

The elevator dings signalling her arrival, she takes a deep breath, slowly preparing herself for the meet. She really should not be _this_ nervous, but before she can second-guess herself yet again, the sound of wet feet slapping against the tiled floor gains her attention. She stays rooted in her spot at the archway, and her eyes widen when a small girl comes skidding into the room. Her blue eyes - so much like Oliver’s – are wide as she spots Felicity. Katie dressed in a one-piece swimsuit with Sebastian the Crab and Flounder front and centre with matching floaties around each small arm. Her shoulder length blond hair is soaked and slicked back against her head, she looks at Felicity with wide eyes, “Hi. I’m Katie! Are you my Daddy’s new girlfriend?”

Felicity chuckles lightly at the straightforward question. Oliver did say Katie could be blunt, “That I am. I’m Felicity.”

“I knows your name.” Katie says with a matter of fact tone, her little head bobbing, her blue eyes - so much like Oliver’s - twinkle with mischief, “My Mommy says I have to be nice to you cause my Daddy _really_ likes you.”

“Oh.” Felicity says in surprise. On one hand she’s touched at Sara’s gesture but on the other hand she doesn’t want the kid to like her just cause her mother told her to, “Well I really like your Daddy too.”

“Good.” Katie says seriously. She grabs Felicity’s hand and tugs her through the tiny hallway and then into main area of the loft. “My Daddy is the bestest.”

“He is.” Felicity nods in agreement, her grin widening.

“Katie! Where are you? I told you not to run around the house in your wet suit!” Oliver bellows throughout the loft.

Oliver steps through the sliding doors leading to the patio and his smile widens when he sees both Katie and Felicity, “Hey, I didn’t hear the bell.”

“Daddy! I finded yours Fel’city.” Katie says eagerly, her stumble over Felicity’s name making the blonde grin as Katie tugs her towards Oliver.

Now that the sun’s glare isn't block her vision, Felicity can finally see what Oliver is wearing. His swim shorts are hanging loosely on his hips and his chest glistening with water, he can’t be real. It's almost rude, how good-looking he is.

“I see that.” Oliver teases, the glint in his eyes has Felicity blushing and she just knows that he caught her staring, “I thought you were going to the bathroom?

“Oh yes! Don't go in the pool without me!” Katie warns, her little finger waggling at her father, before she slips down the hallway towards the bathroom, leaving little puddles of water in her wake.

Oliver shakes his head in amusement at her retreating figure, he then looks across at Felicity and smiles brightly and with two large strides he’s at her side and wrapping her in his arms despite her protest, “you’re all wet.”

“You’re wearing your suit.” Oliver mutters just before he lowers his mouth onto hers and any further protest dies on her lips as she gets lost in the kiss.

Felicity sighs against his mouth, her fingers trailing up his arm and then gripping his shoulder, tugging him closer to her. She can feel his wet suit soaking her dress, the heat of his body warming up her own. She moans into his mouth, nipping at his bottom lip lightly, earning a growl in return.

“Daddy, I needs help, I didden number two!”

The mood is effectively ruined at Oliver’s daughter loud outcry. Felicity giggles against Oliver’s lips, nipping at it one last time before she pulls back. She pats him on the bare chest lightly, “I'll be by the pool.”

“What’s with the elephant?” Oliver asks, curiously eyeing the stuffed elephant hanging loosely between Felicity’s fingers. She's surprised she was still holding onto the toy after that kiss.

“A gift.” Felicity admits sheepishly, “Don't give me that look. I'm trying to win some point here.”

“Daddy!”

“Go!” Felicity insists, shoving him gently towards the bathroom, “I'm already loosing points here!”

“She can barely count to 10, though.” Oliver teases, laughing when Felicity tries to shove him roughly but he barely moves.

She huffs in annoyance and spins around heading for the patio, leaving Oliver to deal with his daughter. She slips out of her flip-flops, hissing softly as her bare feet hits the warm floor of the patio. She makes a beeline for the lounging chairs, her eyes widening on seeing the surrounding skyscrapers; the view is breathtaking.  The warm sun shines down on the pool, Oliver’s building is tall enjoy that the skyscrapers don't even obscure the sunlight.

“Fel’city!” Katie calls out eagerly as she runs up to Felicity in excitement, much to the blonde’s surprise, “you comes in the pool with Daddy and me?”

“I am.” Felicity confirms, laughing when Katie grabs her hand and begins to tug her towards the water’s edge.

“Bug, Felicity has to change into her swimsuit first.” Oliver says with a laugh, “you go on ahead and wait for me on the stairs.”

“ ‘Kay, donts forget sunsblock, daddy!” Katie looks at both adults sternly, “or you get burnted.”

Felicity nods her head, her face serious as she listens to the three year old, once Katie skips off however she laughs wholeheartedly. She spins to look at Oliver who is currently watching Katie closely, once the three year old adheres to Oliver’s own warning, her turns his focus back to Felicity.

“She’s adorable.” Felicity declares with a laugh, tossing her bag onto the empty lounging chair.

“She’s amazing.” Oliver confirms with a proud grin, his gaze moving to look at Katie once again before he turns his focus back onto Felicity.

Felicity’s body heats up almost immediately at his gaze and the way in which his eyes roam over her body, taking in her light blue halter dress, that stops mid thigh. He takes a step towards her, his finger tracing the light blue strap, his nails scrapping gently against her bare collarbone. “I really like this dress.”

“You should see what's under it.” Felicity quips with a teasing smile and giggles when Oliver releases a low moan in response.

He takes a step closer towards her, his eyes roaming her body as he licks his lips, “I can’t believe the first time I’m getting to see you with such little clothing, and I can’t even do anything about it.”

“Mind, out of the gutter, Queen.” Felicity simply laughs in response placing a chaste kiss on his cheek as she pats his chest, “Go on, your daughter is waiting for you.”

He releases a long-suffering sigh, but despite the dramatics, he can’t hide his smile, they both know how excited he’s been for this long weekend with his daughter. Felicity smirks at him a wicked glint in her eyes as she tugs on the strap of her dress, and with one forceful tug, the knot at her neck is released and the dress pools at her feet. She laughs when Oliver almost trips over one of Katie’s noodles, his gaze fixated on Felicity’s bikini clad body. The bikini itself is nothing risky; it’s a simple strapless top and bottom combo of multiple colours. The tiny V at the cleavage the only embellishment, but Oliver is looking at her like he wants to devour her, and Felicity’s entire body flames in response.

“Evil!” Oliver calls out, just before he turns his focus back to his daughter, who is standing at the second step, looking at him impatiently.

Felicity simply waves at the two in response as she turns her focus on her bag, digging through it for her sunblock. She smiles as she hears the squeal of laughter behind her followed by loud splashes. She is so busy lathering up her sunblock, ensuring that she covers every inch of her fair skin, she does not notice the sudden silence behind her, or the sound of wet feet approaching her before she finds herself being hoisted up in the air and over Oliver shoulder.

“Oliver, don’t you dare!” Felicity yells. Katie’s loud cheers can be heard as Felicity slaps Oliver’s firm back with her tiny ineffectual fists, “Oliver, your shoulder!”

“Jump, Daddy! Jump!” Katie cheers splashing the water excitedly. She’s floating in the shallow end of the pool looking at Felicity and Oliver eagerly, “Throws her in!”

“Hold on.” Oliver warns Felicity and for a brief moment she’s touched by his thoughtfulness but that evaporates almost immediately as Oliver leaps off of the side of the pool and into the cold pool water.

After a few moments they resurface and Felicity kicks at the water to keep herself afloat, her blond hair is in a disarray floating behind her. She glares at Oliver, water dripping down her nose but he only grins sheepishly, “Katie made me do it.”

“Sure blame the kid.” Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at his comment, up able to keep up her charade, and splashes water at him, grinning at his stunned expression,

“Bad move, Ms. Smoak.” Oliver teases, his eyes a twinkling with mischief as he slowly begins to make his way towards her. Felicity immediately swims backwards inching away from him.

She swims off towards Katie, who is now standing on the lowest step bouncing excitedly at Felicity, “He’s gonna catch you! Faster Fel’city!”

Felicity swims behind Katie, hiding behind the laughing child as she surfaces, Oliver only few feet away slowly making his way towards them. Oliver shakes his head, water splashing them in the face making Katie squeal with delight, “Using my kid as a shield?”

“Gotta bring in the big guns.” Felicity retorts playfully, her arms going around Katie’s tiny waist and bringing the little girl closer to her, but Katie has other plans and holds out her arms,

“Throw me!” Katie demands, her hands out stretch, “Daddy catch me!”

Felicity laughs but looks across at Oliver for permission and when he stands in the shallow end of the pool arms outstretch Felicity tosses the giggling toddler in the air and Katie lands with a splash in front of Oliver laughing loudly.

She spins around to face Felicity eyes wide in excitement, “Daddy, makes bigger splashes. Watch.”

Felicity smiles and leans against the lowest step waiting patiently for Oliver to toss Katie into the water. Felicity winces at the large splash, but Katie surfaces with a bright smile on her face already swimming back to her father for him to do it again. By the forth turn, Felicity frowns though when she sees the wince on Oliver’s face as he raises Katie up with his injured shoulder and tosses her back into the water again.

“Hey Katie, have you ever jumped off the side of the pool?” Felicity inquires walking towards the pair, her hand coming to rest on Oliver’s injured forearm, stopping him from repeating the movement.

Katie eyes widen as she looks at her father eagerly, “Can I Daddy? I do it with my armbands too.”

“Sure, bug.” Oliver offers pushing her lightly towards the steps, “Felicity or I will be right here to catch you.”

“You looked like you could use the rest.” Felicity offers sheepishly, fingers ghosting over his injured arm as they make their way closer to the edge of the pool.

Oliver sighs at her words, his eyes still trained on Katie who is now scrambling up the stairs and out of the pool, “I hate that I can’t even play with my own daughter.”

“Hey, c’mon. You can’t toss her up like you would like, but you see that smile? You are doing great already.” Felicity promises as she places a kiss on his shoulder, “She’s a happy kid Oliver. You are doing a great job.”

“Daddy, I’m ready!” Katie yells gaining their attention, she waits for Oliver to give her the thumbs up and they watch in amusement as she shuts her eyes tightly before she jumps into the pool with a yell.

“She may very well be fearless.” Felicity says with a laugh watching as Katie swims back to the stairs ready to repeat the process all over again.

“That scares me shitless.” Oliver says truthfully, “My mother and Sara’s father would call it karma.”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at his words, spluttering slightly when Katie lands directly in front of them splashing all over them. She takes a step closer to him, wrapping her arms around Oliver’s torso her body pressed to his side, chin resting on his arm, “Sure you didn't mean drama?”

Oliver scoffs tilting his head to the left and brushes his lips against her forehead, “That’s still not funny.”

“I think it is.” Felicity retorts smartly, before either of them could comment though, Katie is calling for their attention, coaxing the adults to jump with her.

 

* * *

 

Felicity putters around Oliver’s kitchen with ease watching the pots filled with food as she leans against the counter taking a sip of iced tea in her hand. She chuckles softly to herself when she hears a loud burst of laughter coming from Oliver’s room. Oliver may have his concerns about his daughter’s current living situation but as far as Felicity can tell she has never met a happier kid. It's clear Oliver, Sara and most likely Nyssa have been doing great with the kid despite their own issues. She places her glass on the counter and moves to the stove and begins stirring the tomato sauce.

“What smells so good?” A low voice rumbles behind her, she spins on her heels and smiles when she sees Oliver standing at the center counter, Katie on his hip. She's dressed in cute little purple short overalls and a white t-shirt her hair a tangled mess.

“Spaghetti and meatballs.” Felicity says smiling sheepishly, “I hope that's okay.”

“I love spaz-getti!” Katie says excitedly, she looks up at her father curiously, “we call Mommy now Daddy?”

“Sure, let me get my tablet and you can see her,” he’s about to place her on the floor but Katie holds onto his neck, practically hanging onto him like a monkey.

Her eyes are wide with realization “Wait Daddy, my hair you have to brush my hair or Mommy will be mad at you.”

Felicity chuckles at the wince Oliver gives on looking at the tangled mess that is Katie’s hair. “Do you need help with the hair?”

“Nuh huh. My daddy brush hair the bestest. Mommy is always pulling my hair.” Katie says to Felicity seriously. Oliver’s smug expression only makes Felicity laugh.

“Daddy can do pretty braids too.” Katie continues, “oh Daddy can do your hair for you.”

Oliver coughs uncomfortably at the suggestion as Felicity’s cheeks redden, “Let’s comb your hair and leave Felicity to finish lunch Kate.”

He sends Felicity a sheepish expression over his shoulder just as Katie tugs him out of the kitchen. Felicity shakes her head in amusement and turns her focus back on the food. A few minutes later Katie comes running back into the kitchen Oliver’s tablet clutched to her chest. Her hair is in two simple braids resting on her shoulders, Felicity is about to complement on the braids but pauses mid way when she notices that they are fishtail braids. She turns to Oliver her mildly impressed, “You know how to do a fishtail braid? I don't even know how to do that!”

Oliver grins sending her a wink, “I am a man of many talents, Ms. Smoak.”

Felicity huffs just as the loud call log rings through out the room and sure enough Katie is now kneeling on a chair at the dinning table, Oliver’s tablet all set up. Felicity doesn't need to know when Sara picks up cause Katie breaks out into a large grin.

“Hi Mommy!”

“Hey baby, did you call me on your own?” Sara calls out slightly concerned. Oliver rolls his eyes at the comment no even moving from Felicity’s side from behind the table.

“She’s been doing that for weeks now, Sara.” Oliver calls out dryly, and Felicity knows he’s also showing Sara that he is in fact watching Sara.

“Hello to you too, Ollie.”

“Daddy, braided my hair like the fishies.” Katie says proudly the animosity over her parent’s tone going over her head thankfully. “And Fel’city made us spaz-getti. I wanted to show you my pretty braids before we ate. Where is Mama?”

Felicity can feels the tension radiating off of Oliver almost immediately in response to  his daughter’s words. She places a hand on his back as Nyssa’s voice echoes in the loft, and Oliver tenses at her greeting, even more so as Katie continues to talk to both women animatedly about her day.

“You okay?” Felicity whispers softly, her hand making soft circles on his back.

“I didn't know she started calling Nyssa that.” Oliver explains unnecessarily. He rubs his face tiredly, “I shouldn't be surprised, Nyssa has been part of her life for as long as Katie can remember.”

“You know there is no rule book that says she only needs two parents.” Felicity points out softly her fingernails scrapping against the bare skin of his back, “Nyssa can't replace you. You’ll always be her Dad.”

“She's got the wrong plumbing.” Oliver quips lightly earning a soft laugh from her and Felicity knows that he’s going to be okay.

“Daddy, Mommy wants to say hi.” Katie calls out; she spins the tablet around to face Felicity and Oliver and Felicity has to resist the urge to take a step away from Oliver as she smiles at both women warmly. There is no reason for her to feel uncomfortable around these two women.

“Hello Felicity.” Sara greets pleasantly, she doesn’t wait for a response but instead turns her focus on Oliver, “If you’re going to feed her spaghetti, please change her out of those good clothes. Tomato stains and she _loves_ that overalls.”

Oliver rolls his eyes at Sara’s remark, “I know that Sara. I have a bib for her.”

“ _Daddy_ , I don’t need a bib! I’m not a baby.” Katie whines out in protest, she leans over the tablet hanging upside down as she looks at her mother, “Mommy, tell him I don’t use bibs no more!”

She looks at her father with narrowed eyes, “I’m not a baby Daddy.”

“I know that bug, but we don’t to get your purple overalls all dirty do you?” Oliver reasons, “I bought a big girl bib for you with Brave on it.”

“Her name is _Merida,_ Daddy.” Katie retorts smartly. “I donts care. I donts want a bib! I’m not a baby!”

“Katie, don’t be rude.” Nyssa calls out sternly, “ Don’t speak to your father like that.”

Katie slides off the chair and stomps to the other side of the table so she can see the screen properly essentially standing in the middle so all the adults can see her, “I wasn’t beein rude! That _is_ her name!”

“Katherine.” Sara only has to say the three year’s old name and Katie cowers immediately.

She looks back at Oliver who is looking at his daughter expectantly and Felicity watches in fascination as Katie releases a deep seated sigh and with slump shoulders she looks at her father apologetically, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“Okay, bug.”

Katie then turns back to the tablet screen, a frown on her face as she looks at her mother, “Do I _have_ to wear a bib, Mommy?”

“Its either that or you change out of those clothes.” Sara bargains.

“But Daddy let me choose it.” Katie the whine in her tone increasing twofold, Felicity suspects the child is also tired. Oliver did mention that she has to take a nap after she has lunch, “He said I could choose anything I wanted.”

“What about t-shirts?” Felicity pipes up before she can really think about her suggestion, when four pairs of eyes are now focused on her she shrugs her shoulder’s sheepishly, “You, me and your Daddy will wear some of his old t-shirts, that way none of us will get tomato sauce on our clothes. Spaghetti is _really_ messy.”

“But Daddy t-shirts are so _big_.” Katie points out but Felicity can tell she has the child’s attention.

“That’s the fun right? We can make all the mess we want.” Felicity conspirers with the toddler, wiggling her eyebrows for added effect.

Katie giggles and looks her parents, little head swiveling between the tablet screen and Oliver, “Can I Daddy?”

Oliver huffs out a laugh and nods at his daughter, “Why don’t you go on and choose three of my _old_ t-shirts for us.”

Katie grins excitedly she runs off to the bedroom, but before the adults can react, Katie skids back into the room and in front of the tablet, “Bye Mommy! Bye Mama! Love you!”

She skips off against and Olive just laughs at the complete 180 of her mood, he looks down at Felicity and wraps an arm around her shoulder tugs her to his chest, “You are _awesome_.”

Felicity blushes at his complement, acutely aware of the pair of women currently watching them. She looks across at Katie’s mothers and smile sheepishly, “I hope I wasn’t stepping on any toes. I figured this way she will be bib free _and_ have a tomato free dungaree.”

Sara nose wrinkles at the word while Nyssa tilts her head to left, her long black hair almost obscuring her face, “You’re from England?”

Felicity can feel Oliver’s eyes boring into her as she nods her head, licking her lips before she speaks, “Yup. I moved to the US 5 years ago, I guess some words never leave you.”

“My mother is the same way.” Nyssa chuckles in understanding, “She’s been living in New Jersey for 25 years and yet she still calls the bathroom a ‘loo’ drives my dad nuts, but he can be a dick about stupid things like that. Never stopped her though, she grew up in Sussex.”

“I’m from further up North.” Felicity supplies, but at Nyssa’s curious expression and Sara’s equally intrigued gaze she elaborates, “Manchester, I lived there with my mother until I was 18.”

Her tone alone seems to allude enough that both women nod their heads and don’t push the issue; she can feel Oliver’s fingers curl around her shoulder in comfort as well. Sara clears her throat as she looks across at Oliver, “We should get going, we have lunch date with some of the teachers. I’ll see you on Sunday, Ollie. Nice seeing you Felicity.”

“You too.” Felicity says sending a wave to both women at both as the screen cuts off.

She bites her lip wondering briefly if Oliver will push the issue, she gasps softly when she feels Oliver snakes his arm around waist and pulls her back flush against his chest. He nuzzles her neck his voice low as he speaks, “You know, I'm always here if you want to talk.”

“Oliver….”

“Daddy! I'm ready!” Katie calls out excited, she’s dressed in an old SCU t-shirt the green shirt almost mid calf, she has two other shirts doubled up and clutched to her chest as she looks at both adults, “can we paint after lunch?”

“After nap time.” Oliver corrects releasing his hold on Felicity, not before he squeezes her waist a small gesture that tells Felicity their conversation isn't over.

He take the two t-shirts from Katie and grins as he recognizes them, he turns to Felicity holding up the two t-shirts but then thinks better of it and hands her his old Seahawks t-shirt.  Felicity’s nose wrinkles in thought, “Isn’t this the American way of going steady? How very Danny Zuko of you, Oliver.”

“He wasn't a jock, he had a leather jacket.” Oliver corrects with a grin, he takes the jersey finding the neck and tugs it over Felicity head with ease, her hair fluffing up at the movement, “never thought I'd be putting clothes _on_ you the first time.”

“Play your cards right and maybe I’ll wear _just_ this jersey of yours.” Felicity smiles coyly at him, “Me wearing your football jersey, that’s every American boy dream, no?”

“You can'ts just wear Daddy’s jersey. You gotta wear pants Fel’city.” She sticks her head between both adults, looking at them with innocent eyes, “Why won't you wear pants?”

“Crap.” Felicity mutters, looking at Oliver apologetically.

“She will bug and Daddy is going to get one that fits you too. Remember how I told you I play football on a team?” Oliver asks Katie, “Well you, Felicity and Aunt Thea are all coming to watch Daddy play football next week and you are gonna get jerseys like Daddy’s.”

Katie seems to contemplate his words for a few seconds and then nods, “Okay. We eat spaz-getti now?”

Oliver laughs wholeheartedly at that, scooping up Katie in his arm, “Time for some spaz-getti!!”

 

* * *

 

Felicity learns that the concept of naptime is not as simple as she original thought. Despite her obvious exhaustion Katie fights Oliver till the very end. It's not until they agreed to lay in Oliver’s bed with not one but _three_ story books did she finally agree to a nap. She is currently snuggled up between Oliver and Felicity, her new stuffed elephant affectionately Evie, tucked under her arm sleeping soundly. Both adults did the voices for all the characters and they barely got through the first act of Tangled before she’s sleeping soundly between them.

“Are naps always this _adventurous_?” Felicity asks in amusement.

Oliver huffs lightly, his thumb brushing over Katie’s cheek gently, warming Felicity’s heart, “Not really, Sara says that Katie is testing me, and I shouldn't let her control nap time like this. I’ll start with her sleeping in her own bed from tomorrow…I hope.”

Felicity giggles at his unsure frown, “I think both of you need to adjust to her staying here on a more permanent basis and it's not like just a sleep over party each time.”

“My mother’s advice to me when I told her that I'm hoping to share custody with Sara was, ‘Katie is not the boss of you, remember that’.” Oliver says with a laugh, “I didn’t really understand what she meant until the second night she stayed over and she wanted ice cream for dinner.”

“How did _that_ go?” Felicity asks curiously, she's only spent the day with Oliver’s daughter but already she can tell she is as stubborn as her father.

“Lots of tears, and I hate yous.” Oliver said truthfully, sighing deeply at the thought, “But after she calmed down she apologized. I think I'm getting the hang of things.”

Felicity smiles warmly at him, “You are doing great.”

“Thanks.” Oliver says bashfully, he looks across at her and smiles, “I'd kiss you, but…”

“Sleeping little person between us.” Felicity says with a grin. She stifles a yawn stretching her arms over her head, “I should probably go.”

“Why? It's barely after 3.” Oliver protests. He stretches his arm over the pillows to brush back her blonde hair, “Stay for dinner.”

“We _just_ had lunch.” Felicity laughs lightly turning on her side, her arm coming up to thread her fingers through his own, at Oliver’s pleading look she rolls her eyes, “Alright, but I’m not spending the night.”

“Okay.” Oliver says with a pleased smile.

They lie there in silence for a moment, the only sound of Katie’s soft snores echoing in the small room. Felicity’s mind goes back to the exchange they had earlier, “Why did you never push the issue?”

Oliver eyebrows wrinkle in confusion at her random question, but she can see the moment of realization hits him when his eyes widen, “At first, it was more that I kept Katie from you so I had no right to ask, but after we really started this thing, I assumed you would tell me in time. If it was a big deal, which I’m assuming it is, I shouldn’t push you to share.”

“It’s not something I talk about.” Felicity says slowly, licking her lips nervously. She smiles when Oliver doesn’t speak but just waits for her to continue, “My mom and I, we lived in Manchester and I left when I was 18.”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t on good terms?” Oliver asks softly.

Felicity shakes her head, breathing in deeply the memories of that fight with her mother all those years ago so fresh in her mind. She wipes her eyes under her glasses and sighs, “I was young and stupid and like any naïve teenage girl, it was about a guy.”

“What did you do?”

“She didn’t approve.” Felicity says with a scoff, but now after everything that’s happened Felicity is more upset with herself for never listening to her mother, “I of course was too stubborn to listen and moved out. Never saw her again.”

“Have you ever thought of contacting her?” Oliver prods, already picking up on Felicity’s hesitation.

“I’m not that same person.” Felicity admits softly, “I’m not that same naïve 18 year old girl.”

“Wouldn’t that be the reason to contact her?” Oliver offers, on seeing her look of protest he raises a hand to stop her, “I’m not forcing you to do anything, I’m just saying you’re not proud of you actions back then, but you said it yourself you’re not that same girl. Maybe you _should_ contact her, let her know how you’ve changed?”

“I can’t contact her.” Felicity confesses and she knows Oliver will interpret things as though she refuses to contact her mother. She prefers it like that, prefers if he thinks less of her for that, rather than the reasons she _can’t_ contact her mother.

“Alright.” Oliver says softly, accepting her confession and surprising Felicity even more when he doesn’t push it, “For what it’s worth? There is _nothing_ Katie could do that would make me turn her back on her.”

“If only it were so simple.” Felicity admits, only wishing things were so easy with her mother. “I was the one that chose to walk away from her. I walked out of our house and never looked back. She doesn’t even know I’m on the other side of the Atlantic. I moved out here two years _after_ I left our house.”

“Oh.” Oliver says in surprise, clearly not expecting that confession, “What made you decide to come here?”

Felicity shifts uncomfortably in the bed, tugging the blanket closer up her to her chin as she looks over at Oliver, giving herself time to answer is question, “I needed a change.”

“Things with the guy went south?”

“You could say that.” Felicity remarks dryly, earning a small smile from Oliver, but Felicity knows if Oliver knew the full story behind that comment he would not be smiling, “I wanted to start over and decided I could get lost in New York. Maybe I watched too much Home Alone as a kid.”

This time they both laugh at the joke, Oliver shaking his head in amusement, “Well, whatever the reason that got you here, I’m glad for it. Those experiences, although painful, shaped the person you are today, and I’m pretty fond of the person you are.”

“I think you’re pretty awesome, yourself.” Felicity returns his warm smile and gently leans over Katie sleeping form to press her lips over his.

They both pull back and then lie back on their respective pillows and Oliver stifles a slight yawn, “Would it be wrong if I fell asleep right now?”

“Oh thank god.” Felicity breathes out in relief, turning to her side to face Oliver and a sleeping Katie, “I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t think one three year old could be so exhausting.”

“Two against one, gave us a false sense of security.” Oliver whispers overdramatically to Felicity.

Felicity giggles lightly, releasing a deep yawn of her own, “We didn’t stand a chance.”

“Nope. Not at all.”

Oliver answers her sleepily, but she can see his eyes already drooping as he burrows under his blanket as the both slowly fade out, joining Katie in slumber land.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting Katie, Oliver and Felicity have settled into their new normal between work and spending time together, that is until its finally time for Felicity to meet Oliver's family. With Moira Queen their nothing goes as planned and certain things come to light about Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, its been SEVEN weeks, SEVEN weeks too long. I know. Trust me I know. I've been battling with this chapter for so long, certain things have happened that caused me to do a rewrite of things to come. Switch around future chapters and all the corrections took time. Thank you all for the words of encouragement, especially after weeks of no updates. My goal is to try and get updates back to a regular schedule now that I have figured out the problem. This is the midway point of the story. If were to do this as a series I feel like this would be the second part of the story. This chapter sets up things to come in the following chapter and I hope you all are still interested as I am. The mystery part of writing is new to me and I currently have a love/hate relationship with it lol.
> 
> Also, I am aware that Starling City is supposedly on the West coast but for the purpose of this story its on the East.

“How are you so calm?” Caitlin asks incredulously. “The first time I had to meet Ronnie’s parents I tried on so many different outfits I left the house in my fluffy bedroom slippers, by mistake.”

Felicity grins at the memory, “the bright yellow minion ones?”

“Yes, and it kept saying ‘ _ba-na-na’._ I was so mortified.”  Caitlin bemoans hiding behind her hands making Felicity giggle in amusement.

Felicity looks across at her friend, holding up the pale green maxi dress in her left hand while she holds the short purple dress in the other. She is not really feeling the nerves that Caitlin is concerned about, “I think I used up all my nerves when I had to meet his daughter. I’m more intimidated by a three year old than Moira Queen-Steele, one of the most prominent women in the city. I’ve clearly lost my mind.”

“Maybe.” Caitlin teases, giggling when Felicity tosses a throw pillow at her in retaliation, “I’m still reeling over the fact that Oliver has a _kid_. I’ve met him twice since you’ve started dating. One of those times he had you up against a wall with his hand down your pants, something we both agreed we would never talk about again, sorry. But after reading those magazines I _never_ thought he would be a parent. Hell you've been practically living at his apartment these past few weeks.”

“Not everything in those tabloids is true,” Felicity says defensively, referring more to her and Oliver’s early relationship status. She ignores Caitlin's observation of her current living situation. She has not been staying over at Oliver's  _that_ much. “He purposely kept her a secret for her benefit as well as the mother. Things with them a _tense_ to say the least and he doesn’t want the media in his family business.”

“Oh I’m not judging,” Caitlin says quickly, her hands rising at Felicity’s tone. “I totally get it. I’ve read those magazines Ronnie subscribes to, the media is _brutal_ to these athletes they are like A list celebs in Starling. Oh speaking of Ronnie he has been begging me the past few weeks to ask you to introduce him to Oliver. The way he goes on about your boyfriend, I’m almost afraid to introduce them.”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at Caitlin’s affronted expression. She tosses the maxi dress aside and decides to go with the free flowing purple dress that she knows she will feel more comfortable in. “Ronnie the fanboy, will never stop being funny. I’ll mention it to Oliver, maybe we can do a triple date with Barry and Iris next weekend.”

“Triple date?” Caitlin whistles, slightly impressed. “So things are getting serious then? I mean, I know the two of you have been all over the magazines and stuff, but usually, you hardly ever bring the guy around. Hell, Barry and I are lucky if we meet the guy before you send them packing.”

Felicity narrows her eyes at Caitlin’s words, her roommate isn’t _wrong_ , usually by the one month mark its about the time Felicity cuts ties but it's been a few months since she and Oliver met. After the first meeting with Katie they have settled into some kind of rhythm. Felicity still does not know how she went from a business deal to suddenly doing the part time parent thing. Not that she feels like she _is_ a parent, usually when Oliver has Katie, he spends the day with his daughter and Felicity may have lunch or dinner with them if she doesn't have work. Work alone has Oliver busy as ever, with him preparing for his first match since his injury, she knows he's putting a lot of stress on himself for that. She is at the tail end of her rehearsals for the King and I, and not so patiently waiting to get the green light for auditions for Chicago. They are still trying to find a balance between dating and the rest of their busy lives, she's pretty sure if it wasn't for their public appearances they would hardly go out. Not that at home dates are  _bad_ , in fact she enjoys those quiet nights when they get lost in each other, or nights when Katie is with them and they curl up with a good cartoon. The domesticity of it all is not lost to Felicity but she tries not to think about too long, before she _overthinks_ things and freaks out.

“I’ve already had dinners with Oliver’s best friend and his wife. I’ve met his secret daughter, now his family. It’s only fair that he gets to meet my family as well.”

She tosses her robe onto the bed, slipping into her purple dress and spins around to face Caitlin, “How do I look? Is this presentable for a Queen family lunch? Oliver told me his mother lives in a _mansion_. Well he didn’t say that he calls it the ‘manor’ I looked it up on Google Maps, the place is _huge_.”

“Did Oliver give you a dress code?” Caitlin asks seriously, “I mean, this is Miora Queen after all, are you sure it's not black tie?”

“It’s a family lunch, with Oliver’s three year old.” Felicity scoffs at her friend’s suggestion, but then frowns in thought.

Oliver never mentioned what she should wear, hell he told her about the dinner in passing when she was leaving his loft the night before. Katie was hanging upside down in his arms acting like a monkey and _she_ was the one to bring it up. The dinner has been put off so many times, Felicity thought it had already passed and she just wasn't invited, which she was perfectly fine with. She quickly agreed but never put much thought into it, until _now._

Felicity plops onto her bed looking across at her friend in horror, “what if it _is_ a formal lunch and I go there with this dress, that I sometimes wear at the _pool_. Eating lunch with their fancy china and silverware and I’m in a sundress and _flip-flops._ Maybe I should change… _”_

The sound of the doorbell ringing throughout their house stops Felicity mid sentence. Caitlin scoops up her phone that’s resting on the arm of her chair and swipes her fingers over it a few times before showing the screen to Felicity. Both Oliver and Katie are standing at the front door, Katie waving at the screen excitedly. “Too late to change. Don’t worry you’ll be fine.”

“I was _fine_ , until _you_ made me overthink things!” Felicity hisses as she puts in the passcode to let Oliver and Katie in.

She slips off her bedroom slippers and pads along the carpet floor barefoot until they reach the front door. She slips her feet into her wedge saddles forgoing her cute flip-flops for something a tad bit fancier. She spins around so her back is to the door, arms wide as she looks expectantly at her friend.

“You look great.” Caitlin promises as she reaches behind Felicity to open the door.

Felicity spins around to grin at the two Queens in greeting. “Hey!”

“Fel’city, we’re twins!” Katie exclaims in lieu of a greeting, ploughing into Felicity unexpectedly for a hug.

Felicity laughs as she accepts the hug looking at across at Oliver who grins sheepishly, “she means you’re matching. You look beautiful by the way.”

“Thank you.”

He takes a step forward and presses his kiss briefly against hers in greeting, Katie in the middle of both of them. Katie, however, has other plans and slips out and peers up at Caitlin a slight frown on her tiny lips, “are you Fel’city’s girlfriend?”

Caitlin coughs at the child’s blunt question, looking across at the other two in alarm. “No I am not. I’m Felicity’s roommate and best friend.”

Katie seems to contemplate Caitlin’s answer for a moment but then nods her head in understanding, “okay good, cause she’s my Daddy girlfriend firstest.”

Oliver huffs out a soft laugh at that, his hand resting on Katie’s shoulder, “alright missy, lets get going.”

“But Daddy I didn’ gets Fel’city’s friend’s name. That’s rude,” Katie says with a huff moving out of her father’s grip to look at a surprise Caitlin expectantly.

“My name is Cait,” Caitlin says in amusement, knowing fully well what Katie’s name is. She holds out her hand to the child in a formal greeting. “What’s yours?”

“That’s my name too!” Katie says brightly. She shakes Caitlin’s hand vigorously, “Well Daddy and Mommy call me Katie, but Grams calls me Kate. Oh Pops too.”

“It’s a great name,” Caitlin agrees with a smile. She looks across at Oliver who looks slightly sheepish at his child’s antics, “it was nice meet you, Kate. Good to see you too Oliver.”

“You too,” Oliver replies, tugging on his daughter lightly, “c’mon bug time to go to Grams. You know we can’t be late.”

“Gram will have a _cow,_ ” Katie says seriously. She looks across at Felicity with a stern expression, “Auntie Thea says people who are late gets no food. We’ve gots to go.”

“Can’t have that,” Felicity nods with an equal serious expression. She looks across at Caitlin and smiles, “I’ll see you later?”

“Probably not, I’m spending the night with Ronnie. I think there is some new show on Netflix that I _must_ see. We’re still making our way through the X-Files I don’t know why he wants to start something _else,_ ” Caitlin huffs slightly. She then waves to the trio before she disappears into the house.

“Empty house.” Felicity murmurs to herself as she follows the pair out of her house. Oliver looks over his shoulder and smirks at her in amusement, knowing exactly where her mind is heading.

“I’m not _implying_ anything,” Felicity says with a huff earning a laugh in return. She looks down at the three year old pointedly then back at her boyfriend, “Not that it matters if I was.”

“True.” Oliver mutters and he opens the car door to let Katie into the backseat. They both have gotten use to being interrupted by the three year old, so much so that it's almost a running joke between the two.

Once she’s properly buckled in an occupied with one of her toys, he shuts the door and looks at Felicity with a grin. He takes a step towards her, his arm looping around her waist, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Felicity responds softly, she rises onto her toes, to press her lips gently against his. Despite her wedge heels, she’s still significantly shorter than him; she hums in approval as they kiss slowly in a proper greeting. They are so wrapped up in each other they don’t hear Katie’s calls until the toddler is slapping her hand against the door in frustration.

“Daddy, stop kissing! We’re gonna be late,” Katie huffs out in annoyance tiny little arms folded as she glares at the adults.

“Whoops,” Felicity giggles softly as they pull back and she slips into the front seat buckling in before Oliver could join her in the driver side. She pointedly avoids making eye contact with Oliver’s impatient daughter, not wanted to see the three year old’s look of disapproval. That's something else they have gotten use to as well.

* * *

 

“You’re nervous.” Oliver observes. He drapes his arm over her shoulder, tugging her towards him; Katie none the wiser as she skips a few feet in front of them towards the front door.

“No,” Felicity answers unconvinced. Oliver sends her a pointed look at which she huffs out in exasperation, “m _aybe_ , I mean when I had spoken to your mother a few weeks ago, we weren’t really a thing, just a make believe thing and it was part of the act you know? I mean obviously I wasn’t afraid of her, but like I didn’t have anything to prove because I wasn’t really your girlfriend, but now I _am_ and I want to make a good impression. I don’t want your mother to think I’m some floozy, although I’m certain I changed her mind on that. Then there is you sister, and what she thinks of me is equally important, and oh god your stepdad. You know I was perfectly fine to avoid this for the rest…”

“Okay, breathe,” Oliver says soothing trying to hide his amusement, knowing that she was legit freaking out. "You’re going to be fine. They’re gonna love you.”

He is about to elaborate but pauses mid-step when he sees his daughter. Katie is at the front door and currently jumping, her arm outstretched as she tries to press the doorbell that was a few inches higher than the toddler can reach. Oliver never really understood why his mother installed a doorbell when you needed to be buzzed in from the front gate anyway.

“Why have two doorbells?” Felicity asks curiously despite her question a smile tugs at her lips when she watches Katie in amusement. Oliver grins in amusement when he realizes they were thinking the same thing, that seems to happen a lot lately.

“We should probably go before Katie….slaps the door with her hand  and…yup the yelling.” Oliver sighs with a shake of his head, quickly making the short walk to his daughter, “Katie stop that, you know Gram won’t hear you.”

He hoists his daughter up knowing she would want to press it and sure enough Katie presses the bell not once but three times before Oliver can pull her away.

“Whoops,” Katie says cheekily, smiling up at her father basically imitating the same way Felicity said it moments ago, complete with the sheepish head tilt.

Oliver just huffs out a short laugh, while Felicity hides her smile behind her hand, just as the front door opens up and Moira poised with a tense smile.

“It was about time, Oliver,” Moira admonishments, but then a genuine smile lights up her face as she greets her granddaughter in earnest, arms outstretched waiting for an inevitable hug, “hello my baby girl.”

Oliver rolls his eyes as he ushers Felicity into the house, closing the door behind him. “We are five minutes late, and seeing as it takes us five minutes to drive to the garage we are technically on time.”

Moira hoists Katie into her arms peppering kisses on the giggling toddler’s cheek, she gives Olive an unamused look before looking across at Felicity, “it’s nice to see you again, Felicity.”

“You too Mrs. Queen,” Felicity says pleasantly, but Oliver can feel the tension radiating off her body.

Moira then deposits Katie back on the floor ruffling the girl’s blonde hair, “why don’t you go look for your Aunt Thea? Tell her it's time for lunch.”

“Don’t run,” His mother calls out.  However, her warning goes on deaf ears as Katie is already halfway up the staircase, little hands clinging to the banister as goes up as quickly as her short legs can take her. Moria shakes her head and looks at Oliver pointedly, “she’s just like your sister.”

Oliver blanches, “I really hope that doesn’t go over to her teenage years.”

Moira huffs a soft laugh his words, but does not offer any kind of reassurance which does not sit well with Oliver. They make their way out of the foyer and into the living room when Moira suddenly spins on her heels and looks at Oliver sternly, much to his surprise. Felicity’s eyes widen in surprise and quickly slips away to adore the photos over the mantel.

“Talk some sense into your sister.”

“Is this about college?” Oliver asks with a wrinkle of his nose, “I thought you agreed to let her take the year off and then she’ll apply next year if she doesn’t figure out what she wants.”

“What she wants…is that _hooligan_ she calls a boyfriend,” Moira says with disdain. “Family lunch and he’s dressed like he’s going to work in the garage. That worn out red hoodie can be served better cleaning the insides of those cars he supposedly works on. For all we know he probably _stole_ them.”

“ _Mom_!” Oliver reprimands, “I thought _you_ were the one to tell me to give him a chance, what changed?”

“I met him!” Moira says incredulously, “I know your sister, and I’m certain she is doing this just to get under my skin.”

“Well it’s working,” Oliver mutters softly, but shrinks at the sharp look his mother sends him. He’s 27 years old and his mother can still make him cower. “Why don’t you just give him a chance, he may surprise you.”

“Hardly,” Moira mutters. “It’s bad enough you seem to have fallen for some woman you picked up at bar.”

“ _Mom,_ ” Oliver warns. He glances across at Felicity who is on the side of the room looking at the Queen family pictures, thankfully unaware of his current conversation with his mother. “It’s not like that. _She_ is not like that, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to her.”

“Oliver, I know you care about this woman, maybe even love her, and while I’m surprised she stuck around after you told her about Katie,I still don’t trust her, and neither should you.”

“Why the hell not?” Oliver all but growls, ensuring to keep his voice down and not alert Felicity, who is still mesmerized by all the pictures on the mantel. “You don’t even _know_ her.”

“Do you?” Moira counters, “you’ve mentioned that she moved to the U.S. five years ago, but what about before that, do you know _anything_ about her life before that?”

“Of course I do,” Oliver protests. “She is from Manchester. Not that it’s any of _your_ business, but she and her mother fell out and she moved out and then decided to come here. She doesn’t like to talk about her past, so I don’t push her. Felicity is not hiding anything from me, I know who she is and I’d appreciate it if you not talk about my girlfriend like that. If this is how you’re behaving with Thea’s new boyfriend I don’t want anything to do with it.”

He turns his back on her, effectively ending their conversation. He then walks up to Felicity and places a hand on her shoulder. "Hope there aren’t any embarrassing pictures of me.”

“That’s _exactly_ what I’m looking for,” Felicity teases, her eyes twinkling when she looks up at him. When she catches his eye though, her smile falters and she tilts her lead looking at him thoughtfully, clearly picking up on his mood.“Everything okay?”

Oliver clears his throat but nods, squeezing her hip in reassurance, “just my mother...being my mother; she wants me to spook Thea’s boyfriend.”

Felicity chuckles lightly at his words, she glances over her shoulder at his mother briefly, before she turns to face him, “does that mean she’s going to send your sister after me?”

Oliver scoffs, “hardly, Thea will no doubt be curious, if not polite, but she’d never entertain my mother’s protective streak like that, unless she doesn’t like you.”

Felicity blanches at his words, her eyes go wide and Oliver can’t help but laugh in amusement. Felicity then huffs in annoyance when she realizes that he’s teasing her, “not funny, Oliver.”

“Maybe just a little?”

He’s saved from having to get out of that prickle, when Katie comes barrelling into the room, both Thea and Thea’s boyfriend each holding one of her hands. Thea’s boyfriend looking completely out his element with the three year old hanging off his hand.

“I founds them!” Katie greets brightly.

Thea rolls her eyes as she takes a step towards her brother, releasing her niece's’ hand. “Hey Ollie, I ask the munchkin for some of that special growing fairy dust you’ve been using on her, but she doesn’t want to share.”

“There is no fairy dust, Auntie Thea.” Katie says with a huff, “I’m just _tall._ ”

Oliver chuckles at his daughter’s putout expression as he tugs his sister into a hug, “Speedy, stop teasing her.”

Thea only chuckles in return before she turns around and beckons a nervous Roy closer to her, “Ollie this is Roy. Roy, Oliver.”

Oliver stands tall as Roy approaches him and holds out his hand for the young man. He maintains eye contact with Roy, his grip firm as he shakes it. Oliver’s eyes narrow as he squeezing Roy’s wrist, a scare tactic he’s used numerous times on boys Thea has allowed him to meet. Oliver smirks in satisfaction when Roy falters, his eyes widening in surprise at Oliver’s grip

Suddenly, a small hand is on Oliver’s biceps, nails digging into his skin in warning. Oliver releases his hold on Roy’s hand and looks across at Felicity, who only smiles brightly at the two teenagers, pointedly ignoring Oliver’s gaze, but her fingernails dig deeper into his skin, solidifying her point quite well.

She holds out her other hand in greeting, “hi, I'm Felicity.”

The three exchange pleasantries as Felicity’s grip loosens on Oliver, her fingers trailing down his arm so she can loop it through his own. She never once removes her focus from his sister as the two discuss options for Thea after graduation, but Felicity leans into him all the same. Oliver tunes out their conversation to look at his daughter who is currently speaking to Roy enthusiastically, and Oliver can tell immediately that the teen is enamoured with his daughter by the genuine smile on his face as he speaks to Katie.

“Everyone,” His mother calls out to get the small groups attention, “lunch is served.”

“No fried octopuses right?” Felicity whispers in Oliver’s ear as she walks next to him, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Oliver chuckles softly shaking his head as they trail behind his family. He watches in amusement as Katie runs into Walter’s arms greeting the older man excitedly and then demanding to be placed in her booster seat. His daughter knows his mother’s rules very well and he's always so amazed how little effort it takes to get Katie to behave here. Most of the times its always a battle with Sara or himself, their daughter always wanting to test her boundaries. Oliver moves to his daughter’s side and pulls the seat next to his for Felicity, his eyes still on Katie as she gets situated on her booster seat. Her little elbows are resting on the tablecloth as she looks around at her family with wide curious eyes

The family maid, Raisa comes out from the kitchen carrying three plates in her arms, one of which is a bright pink plastic plate unlike the delicate white china in her other hands. She places the first plate in front of Katie, but the toddle tilts her head to the side and frowns in confusion. She picks up her fork and pokes at her food, more precisely the Shepherd’s pie on her plate, “where’s da chicken, Gram?”

The table breaks out into laughter, but Katie looks across at her father in confusion. Oliver grins as he takes his own fork separating the pie, “see this? It’s the mince meat, you eat it with the potato, like mashed potatoes.”

“It’s Shepherd’s pie,” Moira informs her granddaughter, taking a small bite of her own pie. “It’s Granddad’s favourite.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Katie says slowly. She eyes the pie apprehensively but takes a small bite when Oliver takes a piece of his, “masha-pa-tay-toe needs gravy doh.”

Oliver chuckles lightly at his daughter words; he looks across at his stepfather with a sheepish grin, “she’s not wrong.”

“Oh I haven’t had shepherd’s pie in _ages,_ ” Felicity confesses. She takes small chunk of pie and hums in approval, “this is amazing. Mashed peas with carrots and broccoli, the only thing missing is my favourite black tea.”

Felicity looks blissfully at her meal, moaning softly as she takes a next bite. Oliver watches her in amusement when she finally takes notice to the rest of the family, save Katie is watching her closely. She looks at them sheepishly, cheeks tinted red in embarrassment, “Sorry, it’s been awhile since I’ve had a meal from home.”

Walter is the first to laugh at her words; he places his napkin onto the table and rises from his chair, “would you like a cuppa?”

Oliver frowns at the question, but Felicity seems to understand immediately as she perks up, “yes please, with a splash of milk. Thank you.”

“Coming right up, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to share a cup with someone who appreciates tea. These Americans and their coffee, they refuse to part with it,” Walter says teasingly. He sends his wife a knowing grin before he heads off to the kitchen.

“So is butterbeer an actual British thing or is that just Harry Potter?” Roy pipes up on the other side of the table. When everyone looks at him incredulously he shrugs his shoulders sheepishly, “half the food in that book sounded strange, but the shepherd’s pie was real?”

“I hope those aren't the only form of education he has.” Moira mutters under her breath, at which Thea glares at her mother and Walter pats Moira’s hand lightly.

Thea glowers for a moment but turns to Roy who looks as though he wishes the floor would swallow him hold. She laces her fingers through his own and smiled up at him teasingly, “of course out of all the things that goes on in those stories, you focus on the _food_. You do know there aren’t actual jumping, chocolate frogs right?”

Oliver smirks at his sister’s smartass remark, while Felicity giggles into her cup of water. Oliver watches closely as Roy retorts in kind, very much keeping up with Thea’s wit. The two go back and forth for a while, and Oliver can see already how much his sister adores her boyfriend, her face lighting up every time Roy makes some lame joke or the other.

“Felicity, what part of England did you grow up?” Walter asks on walking back into the room with a silver tray in hand with a complete tea set.

“Manchester,” Felicity answers with a polite smile. She wipes her mouth on her napkin before she continues casting Oliver an uncertain expression, “I…uh lived in Ireland for a year before I moved to Starling.”

“Ireland is wonderful,” Walter smiles warmly, “I usually try to visit there whenever I head home. I grew up in Kent, but then spent some time in Sussex during the 80s. ”

“Walter, did you have the big 80s hair? Or were you more of an afro kind of guy?” Thea teases, looking delightful at the mental image.

Oliver smirks at the thought, sharing a smile with his mother who looks across at her husband patting his hand lightly, “I do believe there are pictures somewhere in the house.”

“Excellent.” Thea smirks at her stepfather who only shakes his head in response.

“Felicity, any plans on returning home?” Walter asks, pointedly ignoring Thea who sticks her tongue out at him.

Oliver turns to his left to look at Felicity but frowns at the way her body goes rigid, she still has a smile plastered across her face, but Oliver can see that her smile is fake, and that her body is tense as she curls her hand around her cup, tightening her grip. She takes a sip of her tea, and he knows almost immediately that she is using that to buy her sometime. When he looks around the table no one seems to catch on to her hesitation, except for his mother who is currently looking at _him_ with a pointed look.

“No plans.” Felicity says easily, “I’m currently in the middle of extensive auditions for Chicago and hoping to start the Starling City production of the King and I next week.  If Chicago works out I may finally make it back onto Broadway. Hopefully for a good three year run."

“Ah yes work can be a hindrance at times, and I’m sure if you were to go you’d want more than a handful of days there visit family and such.” Walter says pleasantly, completely unaware at the way Felicity flinches at his words.

“No family to see, but maybe one day I’ll get to go back.” Felicity lies, as she shrugs her shoulders sheepishly. Oliver tries to catch her eye, tries to silently question her, but she shifts her gaze from Walter to her plate of food and for the first time since they’ve met Oliver wonders if there is more to her story than she’s letting on.

“So what made you decide to come to Starling City? New York is pretty large leap from Ireland, I should imagine,” Moira questions. She wipes her mouth with her napkin never breaking eye contact with Felicity, an intimidation tactic Oliver is all too familiar with.

Felicity blows lightly over her tea, contemplating Moira’s question clearly not deterred by Moira’s tone, “something different, Ireland never felt like home and I wanted a new start.”

“I see,” Moira muses, “You must have been young when you came across here, was college in the cards?”

Oliver bristles at his mother’s probing questions, not even _he_ has asked Felicity these things. Of course he’s curious but if there is one thing he’s learned from Felicity in these few short months of dating is that she is very much a closed book about her past. Felicity likes to divulge information to him when she’s comfortable, something he not completely okay with, but at the same time thinks he should not push on. His mother looks at him expectantly, raising one perfect eyebrow, “I’m simply making conversation, Oliver. No need for the theatrics, all the huffing you’re doing is not necessary.”

“Are you like the wolf, Daddy?” Katie pipes up, a small carrot in her hand as she chomps down on it, “You know. ‘Imma huff and puff and _blow_ your house down!’ with the three little piggies.”

“No, bug. Gram is just being nosy.” Oliver responds, sending his mother a pointed look.

“He certainly is looking like the big bad wolf.” Thea mutters under her breath, but because she’s sitting next to Katie, the little girl giggles loudly in response.

“Dat’s cause of Daddy’s scratchy beard. He wented…”

“Katherine, don’t speak when you’re mouth is full.” Moira says firmly, making the little girl cower slightly. Oliver sends his mother a sharp look at which Moira sighs, her gaze softening when she looks at Katie who is now meekly chewing on her carrot, “it’s not polite to talk when your mouth is full. Remember, you’re a little lady.”

“Like the doggie?” Katie asks after she swallows her bite, referring to Lady and the Tramp.

Recently, Sara and Nyssa have been going through Disney’s collection of movies with Katie and Oliver is certain every week she wants to be a new princess. “Lady eats the spaz-getti with Tramp and den they kiss. Like Daddy and Fel’city, and my mommies. Do you and Grandad kiss, Gram? Do I have to finds a boy or girl to kiss?”

“When you’re older, much, _much_ older you can kiss whoever you want.” Oliver promises. Why did his kid have to be so curious, kissing should not be on her radar until she’s at _least_ 20.

“Like Auntie Thea?” Katie asks innocently, at which Roy begins to cough roughly.

Thea pats her boyfriend on the back, but Oliver can see her face has turned red and he has no doubt that his daughter probably walked in on something she shouldn’t have.  He sends his sister a pointed glare, before looking back at his daughter, “Bug, why don’t you eat your pie before it gets cold?”

Katie’s little head wrinkles all for a second before she dives into the last bit of her shepherd’s pie, “Gram?”

“Yes, Kate?” Moira asks curiously, pausing from eating her own meal. Oliver can see his mother is already bracing herself for Katie’s next question. They are never quite too sure what Katie’s inquisitive mind will come up with.

“Do we get _real_ pie for desserts?”

The table breaks out into laughter at the question, Oliver can see that his mother has already loosened up a bit from Katie’s question. He knew bringing her to this lunch was a good idea.

“We can’t _not_ have your favourite,” Moira teases.

Katie hops in her seat, her eyes wide and her fingers clutching her brightly coloured fork in anticipation. “Apple pie?”

“Oh is that your favourite?” Moira asks feigning surprise. She places a hand against her chest and looks at her granddaughter with wide eyes, “I thought it was fish pie.”

“ _Fish_?” Katie gags, “I _hate_ fish and that’s not a _dessert_ , Gram.”

“You got me.” Moira teases, “Two apple pies, one big one for the adults and one mini one just for Kate.”

“Mom.” Oliver groans softly, “She could have just had a slice of her own.”

“But, Daddy I get my very own _pie_.” Katie whines.

“Yea Dad, lighten up.” Thea chimes in, smirking at Oliver.

“Oliver, I had Raisa make her one the size of a cupcake, it’s hardly _large_.” Moira admonishes, “I rarely get to see my only granddaughter. Let me spoiler her.”

Oliver nods nonetheless knowing there is no use fighting her. He feels a small hand resting on his thigh and looks across to see Felicity smiling at him, encouraging him to let it go, “Alright, but you have to finish you lunch first.”

“I dids.” Katie promises raising her plate to show him. It only has a few carrots and mashed peas, “can I have desserts now?”

“Of course, dear.” Moira promises, “why don’t you go look for Riasa so she can get it for you? You can even have it in the TV room.”

Katie grins excitedly and looks across at her aunt, holding out her arms for Thea to help her out of her booster seat. Katie is barely out of the dinning room, before Moira spins around to face Oliver and Felicity.  Oliver sighs softly to himself; he should have seen this coming. He feels the way Felicity tenses next to him, her hand that is still resting on his thigh goes rigid.

“You never did answer my question, dear,” Moira says politely, but Oliver sees right through her act and he suspects Felicity does as well.

“College wasn’t in the cards for me,” Felicity answers. “I came here on my own, so my goal was to just make ends meet and get a job and Broadway just sort of fell into my lap. I’d been working as a dog walker a few years ago and I ran into my now manager, Barry Allen. He heard me singing…oh wait I wasn’t dog walking, I was babysitting for my neighbours. I was singing for baby and Barry heard me, asked if I ever sang professionally, and things sort of just snowballed from there, one year later I was Mary Poppins. I was living in Brooklyn and working on Broadway for the first 4 years and then when Frozen ended last year I moved to Starling City. I had been having trouble finding roles outside of Disney so Barry suggested I move here to try my hand at the theatre stuff and build my resume in the process. My roommate had also gotten her internship at Starling General, so it made it easier to move.”

“Manhattan is only about 90 minutes away by train.” Thea says thoughtfully, “If you were to land another role you could always commute. Driving is a bitch in the city.”

“You’re telling me,” Felicity says with a laugh, “My last audition, I stupidly thought I could drive there, ended up reaching 3 hours late for my audition.”

“And they waited for you?” Moira ask incredulously.

“Of course not.” Felicity says easily, pointedly ignoring the sharp tone at which Moira spoke, “At least I learned my lesson.”

“You should teach Ollie about that.” Thea teases. Oliver reaches over Katie’s empty seat to nudge Thea, but she pulls away before he can. She would have almost ended up toppling over her own seat if it wasn’t for Roy’s quick reflexes.

“Children.” Moira admonishes the two, reminding Oliver of family dinners with their father when he and Thea use to fight over who got the last slice of cake. She looks over at Felicity with a thoughtful expression, but thankfully does not comment further on Felicity’s story, or does not probe further.

The rest of their lunch is enjoyed in relative silence as they finish off their meals, that is until his mother decides to break the silence, much to Oliver’s dismay.

“Did your inability to secure a job outside of children’s productions have anything to do with you dating my son?” Moira asks Felicity point blank, giving the entire room verbal whiplash.

Walter calls out to her in warning, but Oliver knows his mother, once she sets her sight on her prey there is no point in trying to deter her. He goes to defend Felicity, but Felicity places her hand back on his lap stopping him, she shakes her head slightly at his questioning gaze and then turns her focus back to Moira, “what are you implying?”

“I think you’re using my son’s less than desirable exploits in the tabloids to further _your_ career and as always my son holds anything with boobs in high regard without thinking how his actions can affect others, more specifically his _daughter_.” Moira snaps angrily, her easy façade all but disappeared.

“How _dare_ you?” Felicity growls angrily and she gets to her feet, pushing the chair behind her roughly, so much so, Oliver has to catch it before it tips over. He’s never seen her so livid before. “How dare you imply that Katie isn't Oliver’s first priority? I’d been dating your son for _months_ before I even learned about Katie.  Oliver took _ages_ to tell me about her cause he was concerned about her safety. No one outside of Oliver and Sara’s family knows about Katie because Oliver does not want the press after his daughter, not after Helena basically ripped your ex-husbands business to smithereens by airing your family’s dirty laundry out for everyone to see. Yes, Oliver told me about Helena that’s because he _trusts_ me with that information.”

Oliver looks at Felicity with pride and can’t help but smile at his mother’s shocked expression. He tries to catch Felicity’s eyes, to convey that it's okay, try and get her to calm down. He can see the way her hands are shaking, but it seems as though Felicity isn’t quite finished as she ploughs on through brushing away Oliver’s hand.

“I know that we’ve only been together for a few months but I would _never_ betray Oliver’s trust like that or put his daughter in any harm. I know that things with Helena and Sara did not end well for Oliver. I understand that you are hesitant, but I would hope you would give me the benefit of the doubt before you just cast me aside, or more specifically before you try to get _rid_ of me. I’m not a hard person to shake and I’m not going anywhere Mrs. Queen and I love your son and I hope that you can accept that I’m planning to be in your son and granddaughter’s lives for quite some time.”

Oliver looks on slack-jawed at Felicity’s words. He looks at her in awe, but Felicity’s eyes are still blazing, her breathing erratic as she tries to calm down, but Oliver is certain she is not aware of what she just confessed. He looks around at his family and he can see the mixture of surprise and amusement (the latter more from Thea’s boyfriend who seems to be enjoying the verbal spat between both women and no doubt enjoying the fact that Moira’s focus is _not_ on him). It’s Walter’s expression though that catches Oliver by surprise; the older man is looking on quite pleased and not at all sharing Moira’s previous look of contempt.

“Felicity.” Oliver says in awe, his mind still trying to wrap around her words, her sudden declaration, even more so when she doesn’t seem to realize what she said.

She _loves_ him.

His heart is beating erratically as he grabs her hand, tugging her to focus on him. He pays no attention to their small peanut gallery and only has eyes for her. Felicity for the most part looks at him apologetically, his heart constricts in horror at the thought that she didn’t mean it; did not mean the words he himself has been unable to admit. She then tilts her head to the side and looks at him in confusion, taking in his slack jaw and wide eye and he wonders for a moment if _she_ doesn’t realize what she said.

“Oliver? Why are you looking at me like…. _Oh god_.”

He knows the moment her previous words register to her, her skin goes pale and her breathing increases.

“Felicity.” Oliver gets to his feet, trying to hold onto her hand, but she shakes it off, looking at him in horror.

Her eyes are wide and frantic as she looks around the room avoiding all eye contact with him, with anyone really, “I am…I should…lunch was lovely, I’m sorry for my outburst. I should go.”

“Felicity.” Oliver calls out grabbing her arm preventing her from leaving the room, “we should talk.”

But Felicity simply shakes her head and tugs her arm free yet again slowly making her way out of the dinning room as Oliver followers her, “I made a scene. I insulted your mother after she invited me into her house. I should go.”

“But…”

“I have to go.” Felicity implores.

Her pupils are dilated, she looks white as a sheet, and she looks as though she is on the brink of a panic attack. He _can’t_ let her leave. He needs to understand.

“I drove us here, how would you get home?” He asks, trying a different tactic to convince her to stay.

“I’ll call a cab.” Felicity offers, when she sees he’s going to argue again she tugs at the strap of her handbag, her eyes pleading with him, “Oliver, _please_.”

Oliver sighs and nods reluctantly, his heart clenches as he looks at her trying to understand what is going on, “alright, but let me call the family driver to take you home.”

“Thank you.” Felicity says meekly and he’s grateful she does not fight him on this.

They stand in silence at the foyer of the mansion for the five minutes it takes for the driver to get there, the entire time Oliver’s curious eyes bore into Felicity. She does not budge though; instead just stares at her dark blue chipped nail polish on her toes, refusing to look at him. Every time he tries to start up a conversation, he stops himself not knowing how to approach her, how to talk her. He knows she doesn’t want to talk, he just doesn’t know _why._ The colour has returned to her cheeks, her panic slightly subsided, but she still hasn’t said a word. This is not the Felicity he’s use to; this is not the Felicity he’s come to know, to care about over the past few months.

“ _Felicity_.”

She looks at him with wide, alert eyes, clearly not expecting him to try again, but before either of them could speak the front door opens and Henry the family driver is looking at them expectantly.

“Mr. Oliver, you requested a car?” He asks politely.

Oliver looks at Felicity one last time, but he can see the pleading in her eyes, begging him to let her leave and he loses all the fight in him. He gestures at her with defeat, avoiding eye contact, “can you please take Ms. Smoak home? Thank you Henry.”

“Oliver?” She calls out faintly, her fingers twisting nervously in front of her.

He stops his retreat and turns his head to look at her, his shoulders slump in defeat. He can’t fight her if he doesn’t even know what he’s fighting for, he _knows_ he’s done nothing this time. He knows he can’t help her if she chooses to block him out like this. He is just so confused by her sudden actions. Shutting him out like this, and so quickly is not like her.

“I’ll call you?” She offers weakly, and even Oliver can see tell she’s only saying that for his benefit.

“Yea.”

His voice is soft and unrecognizable; he does not believe her for a second. He doesn’t wait for a response and just turns on his heels and walks off. The sound of the front door slamming has some finality to it that leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

He doesn’t understand what just happened. One moment she is practically cementing herself in his life. She declared her _love_ for him, something he would have gladly accepted, and the next she’s running away with no explanation, like a flip was switched and she just stopped _feeling_.

Does she love him, or was her reaction something else completely?

He just does not know anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement I'm glad many of you did not abandon this story :). Special thanks to my awesome beta, Denise for helping me out with this chapter and letting me brain storm with her :)

“Queen! Get your head in the game!”

The water crashes against Oliver’s ears and he can barely hear Diggle yelling at him from the side of pool, something Oliver prefers. He swims up to the suspended ladder and grabs onto the metal bar to hoist himself up and out of the pool. His shoulder protests at the moment as he takes a seat on the cold floor.

“This is not a game,” Oliver growls. He grabs a nearby towel and pats his face dry “I’m doing drills, swimming drills.”

“Those weren’t drills, Queen,” Diggle huffs out in annoyance. “That was you swimming an imaginary race against Michael Phelps and trying to beat him. You are not a swimmer, Oliver. What the fuck was that? Are you trying to reverse all the hard work we’ve done in the past six months? I got the notes from your previous physio. She said that you looked to push yourself beyond your limit which is something I’ve expected from you after our time together, but what I just saw was sheer stupidity, Oliver. What’s the matter with you?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Oliver barks.

He tosses the towel to the side avoiding eye contact with Diggle as he gulps down a bit of his energy drink. When he stands and gets ready to jump back into the pool he feels a firm grip on his bicep.

Oliver whips his head around, eyes moving from his arm and back to Diggle, but the older man does not back away. “You’re done for the day.”

“Let go of my arm, Diggle,” Oliver growls his eyes now trained on the older man. “I just got in, I’m not finished.”

“Oliver, you jump into that pool and you’re out of the game next week,” Diggle threatens.

“You have no control over that,” Oliver all but hisses. He knows the truth behinds the man’s threat, knows that he needs Diggle’s approval to play this game.

He can’t lose this game as well.

“Don’t I? I’m the one that has to give Coach Wilson the okay to let you play.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Oliver yanks his arm out of Diggle’s grasp and starts to make his way towards the lockers, “I have my own pool I can finish the drills there.”

“Oliver, Wilson called me last week. He’s worried your head’s not in the game and you could damage your shoulder more if you play next week. Frankly, I think he’s right. I don’t know what’s been going on with you for the past two weeks but you need to figure it out.”

Oliver falters on his way to the lockers, his chest heaving from his exertion in the pool. It’s been two weeks since the incident at his mother’s house, two long, suffering weeks. He has not heard from Felicity since, the first few days he gave her the space she needed but then he got anxious and tried to call, to text her but no response. Her lack of response has him frustrated and naturally, he takes it out on everything else in his life, his ex (who set him straight almost immediately) and most recently Diggle. The only person who seems to want to be around him and has not received his wrath is Katie, which at this point Oliver is perfectly fine with. He does not plan on speaking to his mother anytime soon, either.

“The quip about me being a psychologist wasn’t just a joke. If something is going on with you, I need to know. If anything it could be just for me to know what exercises to keep you away from,” Diggle offers and he uses Oliver’s lack of response to continue. “Everything alright with your daughter? One of Sarah’s friends apparently has a sister who is in class with Katie, they all seem to wonder if she is an actual queen.”

Oliver pauses in confusion at the name, but then remembers that Diggle’s daughter’s name is Sarah.  He smiles despite his mood, “oh yea Katie loves that. We had to tell her it’s not okay to make people think she’s royalty.”

Diggle laughs wholeheartedly at Oliver’s comment. “I don’t know where these kids come up with these things. Lyla and I are hoping the next one is a boy…okay I’m hoping for a boy.”

“Hoping to level out the playing field?” Oliver asks knowingly, all too use to being overrun by the women in his life.

“Exactly.” Diggle agrees. Both men stay silent all for a moment before Diggle looks across at Oliver knowingly, “Are you going to tell me what happened with Felicity?”

Oliver falters at the question. ‘C’mon man, I haven’t seen her in the last two weeks and your mood has declined rapidly since then.”

“It’s nothing,” Oliver protests. At Diggle’s incredulous expression he sighs in exasperation, “There was an incident with my mother and now Felicity and I haven’t spoken in two weeks.”

Diggle’s sympathetic expression only frustrates Oliver more. He raises his hand to stop the older man before he can give Oliver his two cents. “I’ve already spoken to my mother, not that I really needed too, Felicity took care of that, but Felicity refuses to speak to me and I don’t know why.”

“There is something you aren’t telling me,” Diggle says with a frown and Oliver sends him an annoyed look. “Alright, none of my business. Wanna hear my suggestion?”

“You’re going to tell me anyway,” Oliver says tiredly.

“Talk to her. Apologize for your mother; make sure she knows that whatever your mother said is not your feelings about it. Just do something man, cause this is starting to affect your game and you worked too hard on this to throw it away for some girl.”

“She’s more than just some girl,” Oliver growls. His fingers clench around his water bottle in anger.  He is getting tired of people assuming what little his relationship to Felicity means to him, when the truth is the exact opposite of what they think.

“Does she know that?” Diggle counters not at all bothered by Oliver’s anger, not like he ever is.

Oliver pauses at the question, Felicity has to know how he feels about her. She has to know that he would never let her into his life - into his daughter’s life – if he didn’t care about her…if he didn’t love her.

He looks across at Diggle who simply give him a pointed look. “Talk to her.”

“I’ve been trying to,” Oliver protests. “She refuses to take my calls and that damn manager of hers won’t relay my messages because he won’t be a howler.”

At Diggle’s confused look Oliver shakes his head, rolling his eyes, not at the man, but at Barry’s words, “It’s from Harry Potter, apparently. Anyway, that did not work either. I’m beginning to wonder if carrier pigeon might work. Now I’m starting to sound like Allen.”

“Did you ever try just going to her house?” Diggle asks, his amusement not lost to Oliver.

“I wanted to give her some space,” Oliver says sheepishly. At Diggle’s pointed look he sighs, “I’m working on something with my sister. My 18 year old sister is giving me love advice.”

“From the sound of things, you can use all the help you can get.”

Oliver growls and chucks his towel at Diggle’s head hating the fact that the man has a point. He tosses his water bottle onto the bench and makes his way back to the water’s edge. “How many laps?”

“No more laps, let do some strength training with the floats.” Diggle tosses the green float shaped like a dumbbell into the pool. “I think we can start adding weights to those and next week we’ll hit Meryln’s gym.”

“You’re my personal trainer now, Diggle?” Oliver asks in amusement, knowing that this goes beyond Diggle’s job description in terms of Oliver’s training for his game next week.

“I’m the only one that would put up with your sorry ass.”

Oliver just laughs in response as he dives into the pool, hoping his sister’s suggestions does actually help him out, but at this rate he doesn’t think he can wait for the end of the week to talk to Felicity.

* * *

 

“I know you and avoidance are very good friends, but I think this is getting out of hand.”

Barry enters Felicity’s changing room brandishing his phone in her face. Felicity jumps startled at the sudden invasion and squints at the small screen.  When she sees Oliver’s text to Barry, complete in caps and all, she frowns pushing the screen away. “Not now, Barry.”

“When then? I’m not your answering machine, Felicity,” Barry grumbles. He takes a seat on her sofa and looks around and spots a single purple tulip resting in its customary white vase. “Another one?”

Felicity bites her lips trying to hide her smile as she begins to wipe away her stage makeup.  Every single time she receives one of those flowers her heart flutters. She knows very well that what she is doing to Oliver, isn’t fair but yet he sends her a flower every single day. Her favourite flower; part of her hates the fact she is so afraid to let him love her.

“Yeah. It’s the 13th one he’s sent. He’s apologized a million times for his mother as well, I’m not even upset about that. Okay maybe  In all the texts and voicemails he’s sent me, he still hasn’t sent a message with the flowers or even mentioned them for that matter. You would think he’d want to at least know if I received them. ”

“Are you waiting for a message with the flowers?” Barry asks incredulously. “Aren’t the million of messages that have flooded not only your phone but mine as well, enough?”

“I know what you’re implying. I’m not playing hard to get.” Barry gives her an unimpressed look. “I’m not…I’m just not sure what to say to him and I need to be one hundred percent sure before I speak to him.”

“Why not tell him that,” Barry counters and tugs his hair in frustration. “Felicity, do you realize how this looks, from a business standpoint, that is?”

Felicity pauses at Barry’s words, in the past two weeks she never once considered her professional life when it came to this break between her and Oliver. The day she left Moira’s house and essentially out of Oliver’s life, she had gotten the call from the casting directors of Chicago and they wanted her to audition for the part of Velma. The preliminary auditions begin in Starling City and she has a few steps to go through before she can even begin to audition in front of casting directors in New York City. Her current play, The King and I, is now in full swing and she’s been burying herself in rehearsals for that as well as practicing for her upcoming auditions for Chicago. In other words she’s been avoiding her personal problems and diving head first into work as always.

“Word gets out that you are being considered for Velma, and suddenly you and Oliver Queen are on the outs,” Barry continues with a pointed glare. “The media isn’t stupid they are going to put two and two together and get four. It’s not just you will suffer from that downfall, in fact I don’t think you would suffer at all, after all the directors did come to see your work, personally. It’s Oliver who would be put under scrutiny, people would want to know if he’s hiding something, why such a short romance? Or worse start digging into his past, more specifically his daughter. It’s no secret that more people know about Katie now, and I’m surprised that the media hasn’t gotten wind of her yet. Maybe, I’m sure that is all on Oliver’s PR team working on overtime since he started taking fatherhood more seriously.”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Felicity grumbles, her hands shaking at the thought of Oliver’s greatest fear coming to life because of her. This is what she wanted to avoid in the first place. “I’m not running.”

“Aren’t you? This is what you do Felicity,” Barry counters. “Things get rough and you leave. "Things get rough and you leave. You finish this production next month and you just pack up and go to the city. Maybe you’ve already looked for a place. We both know that plan is festering in your mind.”

“I am not.”

Her protest is weak they both know it. Barry may have jumped a few steps ahead, but Felicity can’t help but think up a backup plan in case something goes wrong. Backup plans are in her DNA by now, it’s all she knows.

“This is just like last year when you were approached to play Cinderella on Broadway and you declined. Which I agreed with because you needed to broaden your resume, but then you refused to get involved with the Broadway community and get your name out there, instead you opt to move to Starling and work in small theatre.”

“Barry, maybe I haven’t explained my situation enough to you.” Felicity growls tossing her used wipes into the trashcan and tying up her blond hair. “I can’t have my face plastered all over the national news all the time. Starling is one thing, we are a small city that exists within its own world, but New York City can reach international. It’s bad enough being with Oliver set off radars across the Atlantic as it is. Do we need to go over why that is not a good thing? Do I need to remind you why I’m currently in this country in the first place?”

“It’s been five years Felicity, we both know you are too thorough not to cover your basis. I think it’s time for you to move forward, you can’t live your life in fear like this.”

“You don’t get it,” Felicity implores, her eyes watering. “I’m always going to be living in fear. I’m always going to be looking behind my back. This is why I don’t get involved with anyone, I can’t possibly explain this to them. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Oliver, damn it. He was not part of the plan. We were supposed to do this thing for a few months, each of us moving up in our careers, or in his case getting a better reputation and then part ways. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him, with his daughter.  I know there is a fair chance that I may have to pick up and leave again and yet I involve, not only Oliver but his family as well. I told his mother I planned to stick around. I can’t make those kinds of promises to Oliver, Barry, much less in front of his entire family. What was I thinking?”

“That you’re human. That it’s okay to fall in love?” Barry offers sympathetically. “Why won’t you let yourself be happy?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“But it is.” Barry insists. “When we first met, and I told you about Iris, what did you say to me?”

Felicity huffs, knowing exactly where this conversation is going, “I told you stop hiding behind that imaginary ‘friends only’ wall you put up since you were ten years old, and tell her how you feel. You and Iris were best friends and even if it didn’t go in your favour, you would always be better off knowing versus never telling her. Oliver and I aren’t you and Iris, we don’t have that history of trust and friendship.”

“Do you trust Oliver?”

“You know I do, but that…”

“Then tell him, tell him your secret and trust him with it and your heart,” Barry offers. He wrinkles his nose at his words. “I think being around you, Iris, and Caitlin has me sounding like a Hallmark card.”

“Oh Barry, you were always this cheesy, “ Felicity teases. She then sobers up and looks at Barry unsure, “and what if it all blows up in my face? I tell Oliver the reason I came to the States and then he doesn’t want his daughter mixed up in that and I never see them again?”

“It’s a chance you have to take,” Barry says simply. It’s the truth, but that doesn’t mean his words hurt any less. “Just don’t explain it the way you told me. I was certain I was housing a convicted murder.”

“I’m not…bloody hell Barry…you were the one that focused on certain words and freaked the fuck out on me,” Felicity grumbles remembering that particular conversation all too well.

She had hoped she would never have this particular conversation with another person again. In fact, when she arrived in the states unscathed she promised herself to take her less than honourable actions to the grave. Then she met Barry Allen --  nice, kind Barry Allen -- who opened up a world of opportunity to her, and everything changed.  Visiting her past is never an option for her; she is not proud of her actions, but knowing it was only necessary for her to survive.

“Yes, well it’s not every day I have a client tell me a story that sounds right out of a Lifetime movie,” Barry quips.

“Hopefully, Oliver sees it with the same amusement as you do.” Felicity says dryly. She gnaws on her bottom lip worriedly knowing she’s going to have to finally face Oliver. “But first, I have to get ready for dance practice.”

“Chicago?” Barry asks knowingly, “How many of those do you have before the final dance audition?”

Felicity groans in response, “More than I care for. This entire play is very sexually charged. Which I knew and I love the whole women taking charge thing but…”

Barry’s eyebrows rise at her comment, and he laughs, “The lack of boyfriend for two weeks getting to you?”

Felicity growls in response and Barry only laughs at her expense, “Well that’s one reason to talk to him.”

“I am not with Oliver for just the sex,” Felicity grumbles, but her lack of outlet after these dance practices does not help her current situation either. “My life would be so much easier if I was though.”

Her sexual frustration aside, she makes a silent promise to herself that she will tell him everything this weekend. She only hopes that the conversation will go similar to Barry’s all those years ago, except with less dramatics.

* * *

 

A few hours later Felicity pull into her driveway and slips out of her car tiredly. She stops short when she notices the lone figure sitting at the bottom step in front of her door. Oliver quickly scrambles to his feet, wiping his hands nervously on his jeans, and looks at her almost apologetically, “Hey…uh Caitlin let me in.”

“Into the yard?” Felicity asks incredulously.

She knows that should be the least of her concerns, but her mind is still trying to digest the fact that he’s sitting in front of her.

Waiting for her.

While she may have decided earlier on that she was going to speak to him, she still had not mentally prepared herself for the conversation they needed to have. She needs to apologize to him, she needs to explain to him, but first she wanted to have a proper idea of what she wanted to say to him. She never expected him to show up like this, especially after she sent him a text asking for some space.

“She asked me if I wanted to stay inside when she left for her shift, but I told her I’d wait out here for you.” Oliver says sheepishly, “Just in case you wanted to kick me out. I know you said you wanted space, but it’s been two weeks and I’m kind of losing my mind here.”

Felicity sighs but gestures for him to follow her into the house and away from prying eyes. On entering the foyer she frowns when she notices the dozen purple tulips resting on the small table, she forgot the last one in her dressing room.  She does not bother to mention the flowers knowing they have bigger things to discuss. She slips out of her heels and beckons Oliver to follow her into the living room.

Once they are both situated on the couch she looks across at him taking in his haggard form. His nervousness apparent by the way he rubs his neck uncomfortably and the way his left leg shakes. He’s jittery and the last time she saw him like this was the day he got to keep Katie for the first time. The guilt immediately begins to set it because she knows she is at fault for this. She was the one who walked away despite the fact that she basically declared she would not.

She takes a deep breath and steels herself for the long overdue conversation they are about to have, “I need to apologize.”

Oliver’s eyes widen in surprise and she immediately knows he was not expecting that. His shoulder’s slump at her words however and she can see the way he slowly retreats into himself. “It’s okay. I kind of figured it was the heat of the moment and you were upset. I just don’t see why you felt the need to ignore me for two weeks.  I’m a big boy Felicity. I can handle rejection. I’m all too use to that, after all.”

“What?” Felicity frowns in confusion at his self-deprecating words, her eyebrows finally rising in realization. He thinks that she didn’t mean it. He thinks she was running from him, much like Sara did before.  She scoots closer to him, taking his hands in her own, making sure he does not pull away, “Oliver, I may have regretted when I said those particular words, but I am not apologizing for saying them.”

Oliver jaw drops slightly at her inadvertent apology. She squeezes his hands and nods, “That wasn’t how I wanted to say it. This thing between us started off so rocky from the very beginning, we fought tooth and nails against each other, could barely stand each other. When we finally got together it was because of a fight and a poorly executed one night stand, that never even happened…ugh what I mean is I hoped that if we got to this point it would not be because of a fallout. Then again I don’t think I would have ever said it if I wasn’t provoked into it.”

“Are you saying you didn’t mean it then?” Oliver asks in confusion.

He tries to tug his hand out her grasp, but she would not let him; they have barely begun this conversation and already she is making a mess of it. Felicity takes a deep breath and Oliver’s uncertainty pushes her to jump head first into the issue at hand.

“I’ve only ever loved one person before,” Felicity admits softly. She makes a small pattern on the coarse surface of Oliver’s knuckles, almost afraid to look at him as she speaks, “I was 17 years old and thought I’d found the one. He promised me the world and I believed him. So much so that I left my mother’s house, left a promising partial scholarship at Oxford University’s Computer Science department to go be with him. He was older than me, much older, so much so that my mother didn’t approve. He had a family business he was running, said I could work with him, run the computers, build the computers for their company.”

Felicity finally looked up at Oliver to see his blue eyes piercing into her, there is no judgement behind them but instead he’s looking at her with that impressed smile when she does something he was not expecting.

Felicity grins at him sheepishly, “Did I mention I may have built my first computer at 6?”

“What?” Oliver stutters out in surprise, his blue eyes wide and filled of awe. He gestures to her house, her well protected, top of the line, technologically advanced house, “This is all you?”

Felicity laughs, patting his leg lightly, his impressed expression diffusing the tension greatly. “Not really. I didn’t build my security system, but I may have tinkered with it a bit.”

“I don’t understand, I thought you didn’t go to college?”

“I did not finish university,” Felicity admits. “I got an early start because I graduated from high school earlier than expected. I was in the midst of doing a dual degree in cyber security and applied sciences when I met Cooper and moved to Ireland to be with him. Playing with computers wasn’t always just a hobby. When I moved to the States I was still interested in computers and I may or may not have hacked into the MIT library database for a bit of light reading.”

Oliver guffaws at her remark, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “When you say things like that I start to wonder if you’re lying about being a Harry Potter fan.”

Felicity rolls her eyes, ever since she basically confirmed that she is in fact from England, Oliver has been teasing her about her Harry Potter knowledge, or lack there of. He is under the impression that because she grew up in England and essentially grew up within the Harry Potter era she must be a fan of the franchise. Felicity is certain that Oliver is simply hiding from the fact that he is the huge fan between the two of them.

“Shut it,” Felicity admonishes, but then they both sober up. “My point is I only ever loved one man before and I did not like the person I became. I let him dictate everything in my life for two years before I had enough and I left. I’m afraid that I’m going to lose myself all over again.”

“Felicity,” Oliver’s voice is soft and warm as he scoots closer to her, his eyes never wavering from hers. “I’m not asking you to give up anything for me. I could never do that. I…I love you for you and I wouldn’t want you to change, or worse, think you need to lose who you are for me. I just want you.”

Felicity bites her lips at his words, her eyes filling with tears and her heart soaring. She’s waited to hear these words from him for so long, but his love, their love, is not the only thing keeping her back. How does she tell him that leaving Cooper was not as easy as she makes it out to be? She fears that any given moment she may have to pick up and just leave. That she has been living this fear for the past five years despite Barry’s reassurance.

Felicity is a practical girl, she runs her life based on facts and numbers. She knows that five years is a long time. She knows that the likelihood of her fears becoming a reality is slim to none. After all she and Oliver have been together for almost 6 months and nothing has happened, nothing will probably happen, but yet she can’t relax, she can’t stop from looking over her shoulder constantly. She has lost count the number of times she’s begun to put things into effect, to simply disappear but then stopped herself, or Barry has stopped her.

This time it’s no different.

How does she even begin to explain these fears to Oliver? How does she tell him that she’s been on the run for five years, in fear of her life? The fact of the matter isn’t that she can’t tell him. It’s that she does not want him to look at her differently. She’s done things she’s not proud of, things she needed to do to survive, but would Oliver look at it like that?

She loves him. She loves him so much it’s all consuming and she doesn’t think she could survive if he could not accept this part of her life. If he can’t accept the things that she’s done; she loves him too much to risk it all.  For once in her life she is going to be selfish and think with her heart. She won’t lose him.

She can’t tell him. She can’t take that chance.

“Felicity.”

Felicity jumps at the sound of her name, pulling her out of her thoughts. Oliver looks at her in concern, his free hand cupping her cheek. “If it’s too soon, I can…”

“I love you too!”

Felicity blurts out those four little words and for once ignores her brain. Her heart feels light, the moment she says it out loud. Oliver’s wide, bright expression only eases the ache in her heart and lifting the weight that has been resting on her chest for the past two weeks. Once she’s said it though, she doesn’t understand why she took so long to say it in the first place.

She places both her hands on his cheeks and looks him in the eye, almost certain his grin is mirroring her own,  “I love you.”

Oliver tugs her by the waist, both of them laughing loudly as they topple back along the length of the couch in a mess of limbs. The back of his head hits the soft contours of the arm rest, but he doesn’t seem to care as he cups her face and presses his lips against her. They both hum in approval until her glasses press against his face awkwardly and he pulls back reluctantly.

“Always forget the specs,” he teases as he places a kiss on her nose before removing the glasses and resting them on the coffee table behind the couch.  

Her glasses are a running joke between them after that one time Oliver accidentally got poked in the eye with her glasses, effectively ending the mood.

Once her glasses are safely tucked away Felicity places her hands on Oliver’s shoulders and pushes him back flat against the surface of the couch. She smirks at him, tossing a leg over his torso and rocks gently against the coarse material of his jeans, the thin material of her yoga pants doing nothing to hide the roughness.

She tosses her blond locks over her right shoulder before she lowers her head to meet him in a surging kiss. She nips lightly at his bottom lip, her body sinking into his, enjoying the familiar feeling of his firm body against hers.  They both sigh simultaneously as they kiss lazily, neither of them in any rush.

Oliver’s hands wander up her waist, his fingertips grazing the spare bit of bare skin between her tank top and yoga pants, and she sighs in content.  She grumbles out in protest when he pulls away, but only to release a soft gasp when his lips latch onto her neck and the rough feel of his beard makes her body tingle.

His tongue lavishes her skin as he sucks and nips there before blowing on it lightly, making her gasp out in surprise. Her fingers move up his neck and into his hair tugging at it roughly when he nips at her heated skin, his leg squeezing her hips, pulling her closer to him.

She holds his face and pulls his focus back on her as they kiss heatedly, their hips rocking in unison. Their kisses grow frantic and Oliver’s hands begin to roam her back, his fingers moving to grip her tank top and he tugs it off in one swoop. He groans loudly when he sees that she was not wearing a bra under the tank top, and she watches in amusement as his eyes follow her swaying breasts.

She hovers over him, her hands resting on the armrest as she smirks at his surprised expression, “Just keeping you on your toes, Queen.”

Oliver only growls in response and wraps his lips around her nipples, her smirk slipping from her lips as she releases a deep moan in approval. Her boyfriend’s tongue is in a league of its own, she’s certain of it. Felicity’s nails dig into the soft material of the armrest, her back arching as Oliver’s teeth nip against her sensitive flesh. Pain surges through her body for a brief moment before his tongue soon follows to soothe her heated skin. His stubble grazes against the curve of her breast, back and forth with each swirl of his tongue, and she keens in response.

“Oliver,” she gasps out eagerly.

She needs more, her hips move against him, legs widening so she can rub against the buckle of his jeans, feeling the delicious friction against her thin yoga pants. Her body is on fire and she needs their clothes off now!

Her arms begin to shake, after holding up her up body for far too long and she knows that this position is not conducive with what she wants him to do to her and vice versa.

“Oliver,” she calls out again, her urgency apparent, but Oliver only uses that as encouragement and his free hand grabs her ass, massaging it roughly as he nips and licks at her bare breasts.

“Oliver.”

This time she places her hands on his chest and pushes off of him, both of them groaning at the audible pop his lips make when he releases her breast. She sits upright, her pelvis in line with his and before she can speak he rocks his hips into her making her moan softly, the move making her legs tingle in anticipation.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver asks his lips swollen and red and she’s certain she doesn’t look any better.

She glances over her shoulder to see that both Oliver’s legs are hanging over the other side of the couch and she slips off of him, much to his protest. She half heartedly pats away his wandering hands, one of which slips between her legs massaging her inner thighs before his thumb presses against the wet material of her yoga pants.  She hums in approval and her legs widen automatically for him, earning a soft chuckle from her boyfriend.

“Oh god.” She hisses, her plan momentarily forgotten. She grabs his wrist and rocks gently against his fingers, her head thrown back as she gasps out.  

“Let me guess…dance practice night?” Oliver’s voice is light as he teases her, his other hand skimming up her waist only to hook onto the waistband of her pants. His words though give her pause.

Felicity grabs his hand pulling it away from her body, much to both their displeasure. She looks at him seriously, her chest is heaving and she may be topless, but she squeezes his hand forcing him to look at her she gestures at her body. “You know I didn’t say all that, for this, right?”

Oliver chuckles much to her surprise and tugs her into his lap. She is poised on his lap their hands intertwined and he places a kiss on her knuckles and looks her in the eye. “First off, I came to you, not the other way around and I know you Felicity, you would never use me like that, anymore than I would use you.  I love you.”

Felicity grins at his words; she doesn’t think she will ever get tired of hearing him say that. She hooks her hands around his neck and grins at him and can’t help but return his sentiments.

They are going to be that couple.

Oliver tugs her flush against his chest, her knees pressing into the back of the couch as they kiss soundly, their kisses growing more urgent with each swipe of their tongues.

Oliver’s hands begin to roam her back yet again and her hips move accordingly, her fingers tugging at his t-shirt, “You have on too many clothes.”

“We both do,” Oliver nods in agreement and he’s already tugging his t-shirt and tossing it to the side.

They are both topless now, their hips moving at their own accord, but neither of them want to stop long enough to tug off their pants. When she pushes Oliver back against the couch and his back is at a slight incline Felicity remembers why she’d gotten off of him in the first place, but his traitorous fingers distracted her from her thoughts.

“Wait,” She says breathlessly, not even realizing that his mouth seems to have gravitated to her breasts yet again

“Why?” Oliver actually whines, his lips vibrating against her skin as he speaks.

“Stop that,” Felicity nudges him in the shoulder to remove him. At his pout she laughs and slips off his lap, this time she does slap away his wandering hands but he stops when she smirks at him, her fingers hooked in the waistband of her pants.

“That couch is just not going to work for what I have planned for you.” She says slightly breathless.

She smirks at him as she tugs down her yoga pants and there really is no sexy way to pull of yoga pants, but she made sure to pull her underwear along with it so when she stands in front of him completely bare she knows Oliver could care less about the way in which she removed her pants, just the fact that she did.

“Felicity,” Oliver growls, his eyes roam her body as he licks his lips in anticipation and Felicity’s body heats up at his almost feral expression.

When he tries to make a grab for her, she giggles and wiggles her finger at him while taking a slow step backwards. “I’ll meet you in the bedroom. No pants allowed.”

She leaves Oliver aroused and laughing on the couch as she skips off to her bedroom, the sounds of his grunting and clothes being removed making her grin.  She tosses her clothes and Oliver’s discarded shirt to the side. She catches herself in the full-length mirror and can’t help but pause on seeing her reflection.

Her hair is a mess on her head, her lips are swollen, her nipples peaked and peppered with growing stubble burn, something she is all too use to since she started dating Oliver. The sex dazed look, or soon to be sex-dazed, as the case may be, she is familiar with, but it’s her eyes that cause Felicity to pause. Her eyes are clear and warm and that’s when she realizes she’s happy.  Her entire body buzzing in anticipation but also, she feels light and free for the first time in years.

She closes her eyes only for moment to marvel in her latest revelation when suddenly two large hands grab her by the hips and before she can react she is being tossed onto her bed, and Oliver is covering her body.  His knees press into her side and she moans softly when she feels his growing erection pressing against her already wet folds. He has his elbows on either side of her face and he looks down at her, a smile on his lips.

“Everything okay?” He whispers softly, his lips brushing against her ear as he peppers wet, open mouth kisses to her neck.  Despite his rush to get to her, he clearly picked up on her mood upon entering the room.

Felicity sighs, her fingers carding through his hair as she moves her neck to the side to give him better access, “I’m just happy.”

“Me too,” Oliver remarks, his tongue dancing across her heated skin.

She widens her legs and arches her hip, nudging his erection gently, her simmering need finally growing exponentially. She tugs at his hair, practically begging him silently, not to prolong this.

He rises on his knees and grasps his erection, pumping it once, then twice, moaning softly before he aligns himself to her entrance. He moves his hip in slow circles until the tip of his cock just teases her entrance. Felicity’s hips rise to meet him, but he pulls back slightly and she can only growl in frustration.

“Oliver,” she keens out.

“Someone is eager,” Oliver teases, but despite his tone she can see the strain it is taking in him to hold back.

He grips her leg, moving it to hook over her waist and they both moan loudly as he finally slides between her folds. He pauses for a moment, letting her get use to his size and she moves her hand along his back. her nails digging into his ass to signal him to move.  He takes the hint and slowly begins to move, her other leg soon hooking around his hips as he begins to rock into her.

Her fingers trail along the hard contour of the muscles of his back, her fingernails digging into his skin as he slides deep into her. Her back arches, her nipples taut and she releases a deep low moan, her hips rising to meet his thrust.

“Oh god,” Felicity moans softly as she clenches around him, her hips increasing in speed to meet his thrusts.

She feels Oliver’s fingers against her cheek and her eyes pop open to see him looking down at her, his eyes full of love. Her entire body is flooded with warmth, but not just because of the way his body is moving against hers or the feel of her bare breasts pressing up against his chest.

This is what she missed, this connection that they have, this love, it’s all consuming, but it doesn’t scare her like it used to, not anymore.

“Felicity,” Oliver grunts, his hips beginning to move frantically and she knows he’s close.

His hand slips between their joint bodies and she hisses out when his thumb presses against her clit.  He rocks into her, filling her and each time he pulls out his thumb presses firmly against her clit, her body jolting with each press of his thumb.

“Oh.”

Felicity releases a deep, low moan, she spreads her legs and  takes him even deeper and her body twitches in response.  He repeats the movement two, three more times before her entire back arches off the bed, her nails digging into his skin as she comes undone. She clenches around him, her eyes connecting with his once again. His pupils are wide, his jaw clenched as his movements become quick and frantic, and not long after Oliver’s entire body tenses before he finds his own release, never breaking eye contact with her, and Felicity’s entire body is filled with warmth.

He collapses on top of her, Felicity’s fingers trailing along his sweat laden skin, both of them breathing heavily.  She kisses the side of his head, her breathing coming out in little puffs as she tries to catch her breath and just before they both drift off she murmurs softly against his ear.

“I love you.”  

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again many many many thanks to my awesome beta Denise for helping me with this. 
> 
> I know this is late, but I blame SDCC, I was a hopeless cause due to SDCC. All the Olicity goodness killed me.
> 
> This fic is nearing the end, I do believe it has just about 7 more chapters left....okay so maybe not the end end, but its the last arc of the fic. Thank you all so much for the kudos and the lovely comments on this fic :)

She wakes to a familiar warmth surrounding her, an arm tossed over her torso and hot breath against her neck. She slowly inches out of Oliver’s arms, but freezes when he grunts out in protest. He doesn’t tighten his grip or nuzzle her like he usually does, instead he scuffles lightly, and then rolls onto his back, mouth parted as he snores softly. Felicity holds back a giggle when  he tucks a stray pillow to his side, and just goes back to deep sleep. Her eyes roam his naked body, twinkling with mirth when she realizes that she still has possession of the blanket, leaving Oliver completely bare.  Felicity hums in appreciation, her muscles protesting as she stretches out her limbs.

Something shifted between the two of them the night before, something she can’t explain. Sex with Oliver has always been great, but last night she feels like they formed this emotional connection, deeper than anything she has ever experienced. It might be too soon to say, and way too soon for her to voice, but Felicity can see herself waking up next to Oliver for the rest of her life. A thought that she was certain would scare her, and cause her to run for the hills. Surprisingly, she feels very content at the idea and almost settled.

She wishes she could blame it on post-coital bliss, but she and Oliver have had enough of those days that she just _knows_ it’s so much more than that. Oliver’s soft snores pull her out of her thoughts and she grins when he rubs his nose, head tilting to her side of the bed and he falls back into a deep sleep. Her eyes roam his naked form and she takes one look at his morning erection and decides she has the perfect way to wake him up.

In the few months that they have been dating she has always been the to be woken up by Oliver’s mouth, not to say she hasn’t returned the favour. It’s just that the last month, before their two weeks apart, Oliver has been waking up at unnatural hours for football practice. He took it upon himself to wake her up in the most delicious ways, so it’s time she returns the favour.

Felicity’s body warms in anticipation as she crawls over his body, straddling his thighs. She rests back on the heels of her watching the way his morning erection bobs as he takes a deep breath.

She runs her fingers along his bare thighs, tickling the skin lightly, but Oliver doesn’t even stir. She tosses her blonde curls over her shoulder and lowers her body to blow lightly at the tip of his erection, watching, mesmerised as it jolts due to her actions, but Oliver still has yet to move. She wraps her tiny hand around the base, her eyes trained on Oliver’s face as she slowly begins to move her wrist, only adding the slightest of pressure.

Oliver moans softly, but shows no sign of waking.

Felicity snickers in amusement as she lowers her mouth to the tip, tongue swirling briefly before she slowly takes him completely in her mouth. She barely adds the slightest bit of suction before she feels Oliver’s entire body tense and she knows he’s awake. She slowly starts moving her head along, and when she feels Oliver’s fingers carding through her hair she purposely grazes her teeth along his length, smirking when his hips rock silently.

“ _Felicity_ ,” Oliver moans softly. His grip tightens in her hair, but he never pushes her.

Felicity looks up at him and when their eyes connect she can’t help but smile at his glazed over expression. She maintains eye contact, grasps the base of his cock and slowly massages it as she lowers her mouth yet again, her lips tightening and releasing around his length as she goes.

“ _Fuck_.” Oliver’s expletives only encouraging her more

She runs her tongue along his length, engulfing him yet again, her lips wet and red as she quickens her pace. The way Oliver begins to rock gently against her, the tip of his cock hitting the back of her throat. Anticipating his release she twists the base of his cock, and braces herself when she feels his entire body tense. With one last swipe of her tongue, her cheeks hollowing Oliver gasps out her name as he peaks and she continues to suck and lick his length allowing him to ride out his orgasm.

Once his body goes lax under her she pulls back, releasing him with an audible pop, and wipes the corner of her mouth. She grins at his spent expression, limp arms and ragged breath. She giggles softly and crawls up his body, settling herself over his chest.

“ Good mornin’,” she greets cheekily.

“The best,” Oliver gasps out. He seems to have found the use to his limbs and wraps his arm around her torso before raising his head to press his lips firmly against hers.

They kiss lazily for few minutes before finally pulling back. Oliver looks at her questioningly, but Felicity just smirks at him in return. “I figured it was time I returned your particular brand of wake up calls.”

Oliver’s laughing response causes both of their bodies to shake.His fingers run lazily along her bare back tickling her sensitive skin. Her body aches for its own release, but she focuses on Oliver’s blissful almost lazy expression instead.

“I’m okay with waking up like that _all_ the time.”

“I bet.”

She can feel the way Oliver’s fingers are dancing along her skin, dipping further and further south with each sweep of his fingers.  Her cheeks clench of their own accord when his fingers just barely graze the tops of her ass, before moving back to forming lazy circles on her lower back.

“Do you have practice today?” Felicity asks, “Or anything planned really.”

Two weeks apart and she already hates the fact that she no longer knows his schedule like she normally does. She only hopes they are both lucky enough to have the day off.  Oliver hums at her question, but his hands slip down to massage her ass, squeezing it roughly before his finger slips between her cheeks. Clearly, he has other concerns instead of his day’s plans, not that Felicity is complaining in the slightest.

“As of right now, I only have one thing planned.”

Oliver’s lips brush gently against her neck while he tightens his grip around her torso and before she can even react she finds herself on her back, looking up at the ceiling with Oliver between her legs. The smirk he throws her way has her shivering in anticipation just by the smirk he throws her way just before he raises her leg, bending it at her knee and opening her up fully to him. She gasps when the cold air brushes against her wet folds, and Oliver presses an open mouth kiss to her inner thigh.  Her body is already sensitive from _his_ wake up call, that just the bare touch of his fingertips at her folds has her raising her hips to meet him.

“Someone’s eager,” Oliver teases the same words from the night before -- their own running joke between them now. Anytime he gets her to the point of begging – which is _often –_ he always feigns surprise at her eagerness. His hot breath against her heated skin only makes her squirm even more with want.

“ _Someone_ is going take matters into her own _hands_ if her boyfriend doesn’t quit stalling,” Felicity pants out angrily. Oliver’s low chuckle only frustrates her more.

Oliver _knows_ how hot she gets when she goes down on him. He knows that she is almost like a fuse just waiting to _blow_. He knows that the act alone can have her teetering on the edge, because she loves doing it for him as much as he enjoys it.

Well maybe not _as_ much, but close enough. The point is there is very _little_ he needs to do to get her off at the moment. The jerk _knows_ that, which is probably why he is spending his sweet time teasing her.

“ _Oliver_.” Felicity pleads raising her hips towards him, begging him to just get _on_ with it. “Stop teasing me and _do_ something. _Please_.”

“But it’s so much fun.”

“Oliver.” She honest to god, _growls_ his name. Her fingers that were resting on his shoulders dig a little deeper into his flesh, and the heel of her foot that is on his back presses into him, encouraging him more.

“Only cause you asked so nicely.”

She raises her head at his words sending him a withering glare, which only seems to encourage his laughter. She moves her foot off his back, her hand gliding down her bare stomach, clearly ready to take matters into her own hands, so to speak. Oliver hooks his hands under her ass and raises her lower body off the bed, pressing his mouth to her folds,  stopping her actions almost immediately.

His tongue moves slowly along her folds, gathering the wetness there before he slips it between her wet lips and she releases a deep moan in pleasure. If there was ever a competition for magical tongue, her boyfriend would take home the prize. Not that she thinks such a competition should _ever_ exist.

Felicity shakes her head, clearing her mind of the random thoughts of cunnilingus competitions.  She throws her head back against the pillow gasping as Oliver nips her lightly. His tongue parts her lips and then moves in and out, picking up his pace with each gasp coming from her lips.

“Oh _god_ , don’t stop.” She pants out, fingers gripping his hair as she raises her hips pressing against his mouth further.

She keens out his name, her walls clenching around his tongue. When he swipes his tongue against her clit, her hips buckle at the surprise jolt of pleasure. She softly pants out his name as his tongue presses firmly against her clit.  She starts to thrash against him her body begging for its release, and her hips rock against his face.

His teeth nip at her clit. Her entire body tenses, stars dancing behind her eyelids and she finally finds her release. He continues to move his tongue lazily against her folds, letting her ride out her pleasure until she grips his shoulder, silently asking him to stop.

Her chest heaves as he crawls up her supine form. His beard glistens with her juices and he smirks down at her proudly. She huffs softly, but yanks him down to kiss him nonetheless, moaning softly when she tastes herself on his lips.

“Beats an alarm every time.”

* * *

 

Turns out they both have the day off and with nothing to do and nowhere to go, they spend the day in bed. Three hours later, and just as many orgasms _each_ they finally head to the kitchen to feed their famished selves.

Felicity is sitting on the barstool dressed in only Oliver’s Henley, the sleeves rolled up at her elbows, while she watches him whip them up a batch of his famous chocolate chip pancakes. He’s dressed in only his boxers, both of them using the fact that Caitlin is on a 24 hour shift for the day to their advantage.

Oliver flips the pancakes expertly as he continues his story about Katie’s latest tales from preschool. A little girl informed Katie that she planned on being a fairy princess when she grew up and Oliver’s ever practical daughter was having none of that.

“I told Sara that is all on her. Those Lance girls are too practical for their own good, it sounds _exactly_ like something Laurel would say. What four year old does not think fairies exist and then tells her friend that she should be a ballerina for the pretty clothes?”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly at his story and animated gestures. Oliver isn’t as expressive as she is, but when it comes to stories about Katie he just lights up. Oliver likes to say that Katie took after Sara or Thea in that aspect, but Felicity thinks Katie very much took after her father.

"What did the little girl have to say about that particular comment?" Felicity asks. She only hopes Katie’s matter of fact comments do not isolate her from the other kids. Felicity pops one of the sliced strawberries looking at Oliver with concern, but Oliver just grins at her before he focuses on the pancake in front of him.

"Oh apparently having an actual ballerina for a Mom is the coolest thing." Oliver replies, a hint of amusement in his tone. He expertly flips the pancakes in the pan ensuring it’s properly cooked before adding it to the stack next to the stove.

Felicity really loves watching Oliver cook even more so when he's only in his boxers and just looking particularly rumpled and sleepy. She licks her lips, watching his back muscles tense as he carefully pours the batter into the frying pan. She eyes the maple syrup on the counter and then her boyfriend and sighs softly. If the cleanup wasn’t such a hassle she has so many more fun ways to use the maple syrup than just for pancakes. She pulls herself out and away from her dangerous thoughts and focuses on Oliver’s words, not wanting to get caught ogling. No need for Oliver to know that his affinity for cooking really turns her on.

“And having a football player for a dad does not?” She teases.

Katie always knew what Oliver did for a living, but it was only recently that Oliver started taking her to some of his football practices. The four year old charmer manages to win over even the most grizzly looking players Felicity has ever seen. That includes Oliver’s coach, Slade Wilson, an Australian with a no nonsense attitude. The only time Felicity has ever seen the man smile was when Katie asked him for a high five. Felicity is pretty sure he has a no spousal rule, in that none of the players significant others were allowed to sit in practice. The one time she met Oliver at practice, the husband of one of the other players told her not to even bother trying to go in. She and the small group of significant others spent their time waiting out in the car park for the players.

“She strives to be a princess and a princess can’t play dirty sports in their pretty dresses.”

Felicity snorts at his deadpan tone, patiently waiting for him to put the dishes into the sink, despite the fact that the chocolate chip pancakes are currently calling out to her. Once he sinks into the barstool placing her coffee mug next to her, she immediately begins cutting up the pancakes with her fork, moaning softly when the chocolate melts in her mouth.

“Did you add nutmeg to this?” Felicity asks in surprise, licking the edge of her fork that had a bit of chocolate remaining. She smirks at the way Oliver’s eyes dilate as he watches her tongue swipe across the metal cutlery.

“Yea, I brought some things from my kitchen.” Oliver shakes his head lightly, no doubt to clear it and then tucks into his own pancake. “You and Caitlin have nothing in here. It’s a glorified college student’s house. I didn’t even know there were so many types of ready made mac and cheese. Do the two of you have shares in Lean Cuisine?”

“Oh shut up!” Felicity admonishes, slapping his leg lightly before she tosses her own legs onto his lap. “Med School wasn’t easy for Caitlin and with the commute to get into the city, living off of microwavable food was just easier. I was mostly in the city anyway with Frozen and got food there.”

“Felicity, you and Caitlin have been living in Starling City for over a year.”

Felicity simply sticks her tongue out at him in return, earning a soft chuckle from Oliver. They sit in relative silence as they eat their pancakes, Oliver finishing long before Felicity does, despite the fact that he eats twice as many pancakes.

“I talked to Sara.” Oliver ventures. He places Felicity’s bare feet in his hands and slowly begins to massage them, At her curious expression he continues, “About my game next week. I told her I wanted to introduce Katie, well not introduce Katie. I wouldn’t put her in the spotlight. I just want her there for the game.”

“What did Sara say?” Felicity asks curiously, moaning softly when Oliver presses his palm into the sole of her foot making her momentarily forget about the last bit of her pancakes.

“We agreed that Thea would bring her at halftime and she can see me play for the second half of the game and I’m not going to make any kind of public announcement. My PR team will handle anything else that comes up. You know questions about you and Sara, those kind of things.”

“And how do you feel about this?” Felicity asks cautiously, knowing how reluctant Oliver has been about Katie being involved in his professional career.

Oliver bites his lip in thought. “It makes me nervous, but at the same time most people, at least my teammates and everyone that matter know about her and Sara’s right. She’s not some dirty little secret, there is a reason for me having a PR team and they can handle the paparazzi when it comes to following Katie around.”

“They would do that?” Felicity asks in horror.

She knows how the paparazzi can get. She and Oliver have dealt with them a lot in the past few months, some of them were all orchestrated by their PR teams, but sometimes they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the game against the Central City Canaries drawing nearer Felicity has realized there seem to be more of a nuisance than normal.

“I have a strict policy about that and if they were to break that particular rule, Laurel said she would handle it. She’s the one that spoke to my PR team for me.”

Felicity practically giggles at the idea of Laurel dealing with some of those people, part of her would actually feel sorry for the paparazzi that decide to so much as look at Katie wrong. “I saw her at the press conference for that case she’s been working on for the past month. She can be really scary.”

“You’re telling me.” Oliver mutters.

“That’s a man that knows from experience.” Felicity sits up at his tone, her eyes wide with curiosity. She turns her entire body to face him, planting both feet on his lap  and looks at him eagerly for the obvious story behind his comment.

Oliver huffs out a laugh, his fingers now trailing up her calves and thighs, momentarily distracting Felicity. She swipes his wandering hands away, and points a warning finger at him.  “Tell me the story.”

“It’s not so much a story as Tommy’s best friend knocking up her little sister was never on Laurel’s list of things she wanted in life.” Oliver admits softly.

Felicity frowns, scooting a little bit closer to grasp his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. She can’t begin to imagine how tense things must of been when Sara was pregnant. She’s pretty sure at 23 and 19 neither of them were ready for that responsibility and none of their parents were ready for that bombshell.

“I’m glad things worked out for all of you and that your friendship with Tommy was not hurt because of it.” Felicity says truthfully, “I can only imagine that he must have been put in a tight spot, with Laurel and with you.”

“Yea, but surprisingly Laurel never made that an issue and didn’t expect Tommy to just side with her. If anything she sent Tommy to put some sense into my head when I wanted to just run.” Oliver admits softly.

Oliver hardly ever talks about the times before Katie was born. He mentions the struggles he and Sara faced, how both their parents were helpful and even the times when Sara was on the road with Katie, but he hardly talks about the beginning of it all.

“I know that feeling,” Felicity admits softly, Barry’s words from earlier this week ringing in her ears. “When things get overwhelming I tend to just pick up and leave rather than try and sort it out. After Frozen had ended and I realized that I was only getting one type of role to play. I couldn’t see how I could put myself out there in such a risky business where people are just waiting for you to fail. The spotlight became too much for me and when Caitlin got into her first choice hospital at Starling General I just took the easy way out. The money is much less, but then I still get royalties for the soundtracks and the Christmas specials and stuff.”

“Did you ever consider doing an album?” Oliver asks curiously. He slides off the stool taking the dirty plates with him, Felicity quickly follows his lead as she contemplates his question.

“Not really, what on earth would I even sing about?” Felicity asks with a laugh. She hands Oliver the dirty dishes and they work in unison to wash and dry them. “I mean the logistics of that is too much to think about and this was never in my plans. Hell, I came here hoping to save up go to MIT and get a degree in cyber security and work a nice 8 to 5 job.”

“Life has a way of throwing you a curveball in the most pleasant of ways,” Oliver points out and she knows he’s talking about Katie. He’s not wrong about the observation though.

“You Americans and your baseball,” Felicity teases, her nose wrinkling in disdain as she knocks Oliver with her shoulder earning a huff in return.

“So what sports do you British folk enjoy then? Do you drink a spot of _tea_ while you enjoy it?”

Felicity guffaws at Oliver’s _poorly_ done British accent, and splashes him with water, “Don’t _ever_ do that accent again. It’s just _terrible._ ”

“Hey!” Oliver protests when Felicity splashes him again. He grabs her wet hands and nips her fingertips. “I’ve never even _heard_ your accent. I think you don’t even have one.”

She knows he’s teasing her and that he means nothing by it, but she can’t help but stiffen at his accusations. Learning her American accent, _dropping_ the British one was out of necessity, something she had to force herself to do while on a 8 hour flight to New York with only her iPod and numerous playlists about learning accents. Oliver picks up on her shift in mood almost immediately. He drops the dishcloth in the sink and looks down at her in concern, squeezing her fingers gently. “Hey, did I say something wrong?”

Felicity shakes her head, biting her lip as she looks up at him. She can’t tell him the full truth, but she can at least try to give him more than she usually would. “No, I just had a hard time losing the accent to get the roles I wanted and my first acting coach was a bit of a bitch about it. I hated that I had to lose it. I felt like I lost more of myself you know?”

“Is that even legal though?” Oliver asks appalled a reaction she was _not_ expecting, “I mean actors from all over the world audition for parts here and they just _fake_ the American accent or any accent really. No one _forces_ them to speak a certain way. Who the hell is that asshole? You should report him to the board.”

“Hey. Wow!” Felicity eyes widen in alarm as she tugs his hands to gain his attention, and more importantly calm him down. “Oliver, I love you and it’s sweet that you’re so protective, but it’s not necessary. First,I have gotten a new acting coach since then, I just got used to the accent and it helps so everyone around me can understand me. Second, my line of work doesn’t exactly have boards that control how people like acting coaches work.”

“I don’t like the idea of someone pushing you around or forcing you to do something you don’t want to.” Oliver grumbles quietly.

Felicity smiles warmly at his admission, patting his cheek lightly, “I know, but I’m a big girl I can handle a few rude acting coaches. Thank you for looking out for me.”

“I’ll _always_ look out for you.” Oliver promises.

Felicity raises on her tiptoes to kiss him soundly on the lips, “Speaking of thank yous. I really loved the flowers. I love the purple….”

“Oh the flowers! I forgot them on the….wait what do you mean purple?”

“Forgot... what... where?” Felicity takes a step back from Oliver, but her fingers grip into his forearm, their matching expressions of confusion creating a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“I brought you some red roses. I forgot them on the porch.” Oliver responds with shy smile. A smile that would usually make her heart melt, but with each word her fear begins to bubble up. “What are you talking about?”

Felicity gestures silently to the bouquet of tulips that are resting in a glass vase some of them looking a little worse for wear. She tries to keep her voice from trembling as she speaks, not wanting to alarm Oliver, “Tulips. I got tulips, one every day we’ve been apart.”

“Felicity.” Oliver voice is hoarse as he speaks, his own hand moving to cup her elbow, “I never sent you those flowers. Who would even know that we were apart? Did it come with a note? Did they send it here? How…”

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Let’s think this rationally. I got all of them at the theatre, I have some regulars that come to all my plays. One of them probably just wanted to send it for each day I did the play?”

Even to her ears it sounds like she’s grasping at straws and from Oliver’s incredulous look she knows he’s not buying it at all.

“Your play started three days _after_ the dinner at my mother’s house. I know I went to it. I wanted to leave some flowers for you, but thought you deserved your space.” Oliver explains frown still etched across his face. “How could someone _possibly_ know that? Have you noticed anyone strange hanging around? The street was clear when I got here last night, but it was still light out.”

“Oliver, I think you’re jumping the gun here. Its probably just a fan. Receiving flowers are almost a norm for me in this business.”

Her voice is steady as she speaks but her heart is hammering in her chest for a totally different reason. She does not think it’s a fan at all and that is what terrifies her to the core. But Oliver’s anxious expression has her trying to not jump to conclusions, but instead think things through rationally. She refuses to let her mind play tricks on her and ruin the good thing she _finally_ has going for her.

She shakes her head and looks at Oliver calmly, trying to look more than she feels. She squeezes his hand and practically pleads with him. “I’ll talk to Henry --  the head of security --  find out where they came from, or at least who sent them. They did not come with any cards so thats why I assumed it was from you.”

“Felicity, I really don’t like this.”

“I know.” She kisses his knuckles hoping to soothe his worries. “Let’s take it one step at a time before we jump to any conclusions.”

Oliver has had his fair share of crazy fans, some of whom he’s even had to put restraining orders on. She _knows_ how he feels about this aspect of both their jobs, but for the most part hers has never been as serious as his. She just does not want all the progress he’s made with Katie, and more specifically, Katie finally getting to go to one of his games, to be affected by this slight mishap with her. She refuses to let that happen not after how far he’s come.

“You’ll call me tomorrow as _soon_ as you hear something.” It’s not a question as so much a demand, but she takes it in stride because she knows he’s worried. “And if it’s not a fan we will take precautions, alright?”

“It’s probably just an eager fan,” she says lightly. However, the hard look Oliver gives her makes her smile falter, “I’ll look into it. I’m sure it’s not a big deal.”

Oliver releases a resigned sigh and tugs her into his arms. He presses his nose against her hair and breathes deeply, “I’ve seen the bad side of fan reactions. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Her breath hitches at his confession and she wraps her arms around his torso. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise.”

She has never wanted to keep a promise more and yet she can't let go of the feeling that this whole life she's made for herself is about to come crumbling down.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again thank you for your kind words and thanks to my beta Denise for being awesome and putting up with me and my rambles :P
> 
> PLEASE read the note at the end of the chapter

It turns out there was no return address for the flowers, thus confirming Felicity’s fears. She talked to the head of security, who informed her than it was never the same person delivering the flowers nor were they delivered at the same time. Immediately, she was put on high alert, even more so when the flowers did not arrive the following day.

She spends three days anxiously waiting for the flowers to arrive, but they never do. It is something that makes her even more nervous because that means the person sending them is well aware that she and Oliver are now on speaking terms.

She has since spent her free time scrubbing through all the security on her house over the past few weeks. And while she may have seen Caitlin and Ronnie use the pool for more than just swimming (a mental image she wishes she could brush away as easily as she did on the computer), she has not come across anything out of the ordinary, which only increases her concerns.

The lack of _anything_ is what makes Felicity nervous, even more so than if she has something or someone to track. The saying ‘no news is good news’ is _not_ the case for her because the way in which these flowers were given to her, only screams one person and one person alone and she really wishes she was wrong about this. Felicity prides herself on being smart and almost always right, but she would give anything to be proven wrong. She would give anything to disprove her fears. With each passing day however, she knows she has to face the hard facts that are in front of her, or the lack of facts that is.

Her past is catching up with her in a very real and terrifying way. She is fighting all her current instincts to just _run_ and stay instead, trying to figure out some kind of plan, but as of yet she has come up blank and she knows that two heads are better than one and there is only one person that comes to mind. The only problem is as much as she needs to tell Oliver, especially before things escalate, Oliver is currently running himself ragged for his first game since his injury and she can’t take that away from him. She has to not so patiently wait to talk to him, a conversation she knows may or may not very well break them.

It’s not that Oliver hasn’t been trying to bring it up, the few nights they have spent together he tries to ask about it, but she is able to turn his focus elsewhere, either with sex or asking about the game the two things that seems to be occupying his mind a lot now. It also helped that they had Katie for the previous night and the girl does wonders easing both their worries.

And she is not complaining about the increased amount of sex either. She wants his focus to be completely on the game and she knows that sex has actually helped him relax. He joked that Diggle had not had this in mind when he told Oliver to spend a few hours stretching and relaxing, but neither of them saw any reason to tell the older man. Then again Felicity is almost certain Diggle figured it out after the knowing grin he send her way when she and Katie came to pick Oliver up after one of his sessions.

“Ms. Smoak?”

Felicity jumps in surprise, she is so lost in her own thoughts she did not hear the loud voice of her stage manager’s assistant until he knocked on her open door. She looks at him apologetically, but he already has his nose buried in his iPad. “Curtain call in 15 minutes.”

“Thanks Leo!”

Leo simply waves her off and is already out the door, muttering to himself. She chuckles lightly and spins around to face her vanity, but as she is about to pick up her lipstick a knock at the door startles her yet again.

“Hey!”

“Barry, warn a girl would you?” Felicity grumbles 

“I _knocked_.” Barry points out. He then plops onto her couch and brushes off her questioning look, “I haven’t seen you in a few days.  Iris was running a little late so I thought I’d hang with you and kill time.”

“Barry, I go on in 10 minutes.”

“So maybe I was supposed to be here over 30 minutes ago. _Technically,_ I’m early for my date with Iris.” Barry grins at her so very proud of himself and she can’t help but laugh.

“Yes, but seeing as I’m not Iris, that doesn’t count and I’m sure by the time you leave here to go pick her up you will be late, anyway.” Barry’s affronted expression only makes her giggle more.

“Alright, be like that. I did come with some business in mind. Are you ready for your dancing audition?" 

Felicity’s mind just blanks on his words, her audition, her dancing audition for Chicago. She forgot all about it. She’s been so concerned with the flowers and worrying about Oliver and his football game it had completely slipped her mind. “Please tell me its not Friday.” 

“It is.” Barry says, slowly watching her with concern, but as the panic sets in he places a hand on her forearm. “The audition is next week Thursday, you haven’t missed it.”

“Blimey.” Felicity gasps out in relief and she collapses against her vanity, her elbows scrapping on the rough material of the counter.

“What is going on with you?” Barry asks with concern. “Are you and Oliver still not speaking?”

“Oh no we are great, he came over, we talked. I told him as much as I could without getting into the illegal aspect of things. I’m just worried about him and this game tomorrow.” Felicity confesses, pointedly leaving out her own problems.

She knows she can’t tell Barry because despite his jokes earlier this week, she _knows_ Barry won’t be able to handle the very real threat of someone coming after her. Last time, the first thing he wanted to do was call Iris’s father who is a cop in Central City. They were living in Manhattan at the time and Central City is in a completely other state. Suffice to say she won’t be telling Barry anything anytime soon.

Oliver is the one she needs to talk to, not Barry, and she just needs tomorrow’s game to go well for him, then she can tell him.

* * *

 

He stands on the sidelines, hands on his hips as he breathes deeply. Blood is rushing through his veins, pumping in his ears, but it does not drown out the sound of the cheering crowd around him. He squeezes his bottle sending the cold water across his face and cooling his heated skin.

He’d missed this, missed the adrenaline rush of playing in front of a crowd -- their enthusiasm almost seeping into his pores. He winces when his shoulder twinges, but rotates it slowly, remembering what Diggle had taught him. All things considered, the first half of the game is going according to plan. They have a lead over the opposing team and his shoulder is faring pretty well, in his opinion. He suspects Diggle would have something else to say, and Oliver is grateful the other man had a last minute family thing to attend to and thus is not here. Oliver is pretty sure that Diggle would have told Coach Wilson to bench Oliver almost immediately. Oliver is pretty sure that Wilson would keep him in the game because Oliver isn’t the only one that has a point to prove.The captain on the team throwing out his shoulder just _games_ before the Superbowl is not something that can be brushed under the rug and forgotten. It’s a _lot_ of pressure to place on Oliver’s shoulder.  Felicity would say both physically and metaphorically, Oliver thinks with a smile.

He’s mindful of the crowd around him, mindful that everyone is looking at him waiting for him to mess up. From reporters, to fans, to fellow players, everyone is waiting for one misstep. It’s no secret that Oliver’s life spiraled after his injury, that last season he was working his way up to MVP, everyone knew it.  For the most part he’s kept his expression stoic and no one is aware that his shoulder has been giving him grief, more than he would like to admit. Wilson is either unaware or pointedly ignoring it, which Oliver is grateful for; he only hopes that with halftime he can take the rest he needs before the last half of the game.

“Daddy!”

A familiar voice has him spinning on his heels and he can’t help but grin when a small body comes barreling towards him. Katie is dressed in a tiny Starling City Seahawks jersey, complete with their last name on her back, her blond hair is high in a ponytail with a dark green ribbon to match her jersey. When Oliver looks across at the entrance to the field he can see Felicity and Thea waving with a sleeping Jamie in Thea’s arms. All three are in matching outfits, but Felicity’s hair is in a ponytail similar to Katie’s and he can see the dark green ribbon tied around her hair too.

“Hey Bug.” Oliver greets, kissing her cheek and then chuckling when he sees a small smudge of black paint on her cheek. Instead of taking it off he presses his finger gently against her next cheek and grins at her, but Katie is none the wiser.

“Mommy said to kick some smelly guys butts.” Katie says with an impish grin. She then puts her fingers to her lips and beckons Oliver closer so their foreheads are touching. “Mama then said that’s not very lady like to say, but I thought it was funny.”

Oliver barks out a loud laugh at that, he can practically hear Nyssa reprimanding Sara for that, something Oliver always takes a delight in seeing.  Over the past few months he’s gotten to know Nyssa relatively well and Oliver is surprised more than anything how easily the two of them get along. He especially loves the fact that Nyssa’s tendency to be a teacher seems to come home with her and she’s the one that has to warn Sara about her language. The three of them have gotten into a routine with this parenting thing and while it’s not ideal, Oliver certainly likes the fact that there is always a middle man for a tiebreaker when it comes to making decisions about Katie; sometimes he and Nyssa have even sided over Sara on things.

Oliver knows that the first time that happened it upset Sara much more than she was letting on, but that was not his concern. Sara was the one who insisted for months that Nyssa was just as much a parent as he or she was, so she can't exactly take it back when Nyssa sides with him. Oliver left them to figure it out, knowing he had his say when it came to Katie; the next time there was an issue he wasn't surprised to see that they had resolved things. Sara and Nyssa had always worked so much better than Oliver and Sara ever could have.

"Daddy, Fel'city and I are twins," Katie says eagerly pointing to her jersey then over at Felicity and waving eagerly, “Oh Jamie and Aunty Thea too, cause they gots brown hair.”

“So you and I can’t be twins?” Oliver teases, knowing she is referring to the matching jerseys more than anything else.

“No, ‘cause you’re my Daddy.” She says it so matter-of-factly Oliver doesn’t know how to respond to that other than kissing her on the cheek.

When the cheerleaders and the mascots begin to take the center field and Katie’s eyes widen comically, Oliver laughs wholeheartedly and puts her on his shoulders so she can get a better view. Wincing when he realize that was a bad decision, but he pushes through it knowing she can see better like that.  He grips onto her tiny legs, making sure she does not stumble, chuckling when she complains about how hard his shoulders are, mostly referring to his shoulder pads. He looks across at Felicity, who is sitting in the front of the stands and cheering the team on, he waves her over but she just shakes her head and points to Katie.

He thinks he has fallen in love with her a little bit more after that. She wants this to be just about him and Katie, no one else. He tugs gently on Katie’s leg to gain her attention.

“Hey Bug?”

Katie for the most part is able to tear her gaze away from the dancing canaries and hawks fluttering around the stage. She looks at Oliver expectantly and Oliver grins spinning around so their backs are to the field and they are looking at Felicity. “Blow a kiss for Felicity.”

Sure enough Katie smacks her hand against her lips and then flings her arm out towards Felicity with Oliver mimicking her gesture. He smiles when Felicity laughs and reaches out to ‘catch’ both kisses with each hand and then presses them to her lips.

“She caught them, Daddy!” Katie says eagerly, her sneakers slapping against his shoulder padding. “Can we watch the birdies now?”

Oliver chuckles, but aids her request nonetheless. He looks back at Felicity, but frowns when she sees her biting her fingernails nervously when she looks at her phone screen. He wonders what could be wrong, but Thea leans over to say something to Felicity and the blond only laughs in response. Despite her laugh, Oliver can see that her smile is strained and he wonders yet again what is going on.

These past few days have been a whirlwind for him, between getting reading for the game and worrying about his shoulder. He feels as though he has not been paying much attention to anything else, particularly Felicity. It’s not that he hasn’t asked her about the flowers, he has --repeatedly -- and she’s given him a bit of a brush off, or more specifically, she told him they would worry about it after his game.

The fact that she has not given a direct answer for that makes him worry. He knows the fact that he wasn’t the one giving her those flowers freaked her out, much more than she was letting on. He’s beginning to wonder if she’s hiding something yet again, and the idea that she could be angers him. Well more like frustrates him because he thought they were past that; he just doesn’t understand _what_ she could be hiding.

He knows for a fact that she could not possibly cheating on him, Felicity just does not have it in her, added to the fact she isn’t stupid she would have never admitted to the flowers, if it were someone else.

Oliver growls softly to himself. He hates that the doubt is creeping in; hates that she seems to be putting him in that position, yet again. He trusts her, but he can’t ignore the nagging feeling that something is missing and he hates that she just won’t _tell_ him what it is.

He makes a promise to himself, no matter the outcome of the game today he’s going to sit her down and talk to her. They can’t move forward unless they are honest with each other and he’s going to help her with these flower things. The idea that someone random, even just an overly enthusiastic fan sends her flowers _daily_ just doesn’t sit well with him.

Is it jealousy? Maybe, but it’s more the unease he feels of someone watching her every move. He’s never been more grateful that Felicity and Caitlin seem to have a ridiculously high tech security system in their house. Although, if Felicity is right, which he’s learned, she usually is, she doesn’t suspect Caitlin will be living in the house for much longer. Her friend seems to have all but moved into Ronnie’s apartment. That latest revelation leaves Oliver with his next predicament, which is him asking Felicity to take their relationship another step further.

When Felicity was catching him up with what he’d miss the past two weeks she mentioned Caitlin’s living situation and he had to use every bit of restraint to not blurt it out to her while they were lounging on the makeshift pillow bed in front of the television, both of them gloriously naked as they had been for the majority of the day. He is almost certain Felicity would not have appreciated that, even if it was just for them to move into together.

“Daddy! They brought Peppa Pig!” Katie screams loudly in excitement bouncing on Oliver’s shoulders. This time Oliver does wince and quickly tugs her off his shoulders and holds her with his good arm, grateful that she takes after her mother and is still a tiny little thing at almost 4 years old.

He looks up and groans. Sure enough the pink monstrosity that has haunted his waking hours is dancing across the field. He doesn’t even understand how the British cartoon even took over in the states. Katie was introduced to it at school and came back practically giddy that the pigs sound like her Granddad. Thus the pink pig and her friends have been on constant loop in Oliver’s apartment as well as at Sara’s. Felicity was so tickled by it all when she found out, she actually watched the cartoon with Katie two days ago and was teaching Katie how to say things.

Hearing Felicity speak with the British accent was definitely the highlight of Oliver’s week and he may or may not have stored away a certain roleplay about a secret British spy and, more specifically, the girls that follow him.

Oliver shakes his head not believing where is mind wandered off to while his daughter is in his arms, but also why there is a dancing singing pig in front of him. He looks down at Katie to see her clapping enthusiastically and he’s so very glad this was her very first game. The Seahawks versus the Canaries friendly match has always been more kid oriented, usually there are proceeds that are split and go towards the orphanages in each city and the halftime is always kid friendly. Each year Oliver would wish Katie was here with him. While he hates that he kept her away from everything, part of him doesn’t think he was quite ready for the world to see him as a father when he himself didn’t seem to want to take the task as seriously as he should have.

“Kid, time to get ready for the next half.” Slade Wilson says gruffly in greeting, but despite his tone he tips his hat forward at Katie. “Hey there, baby Queen.”

“Hi, Mr. Slade!” Katie greets with a smile. She then pats Oliver on the cheek, “I go back by Fel’city now?”

“Yea, do you want me to take you, or can you go on your own?” Oliver asks.

Both Felicity and Thea are sitting in the very first row in the stands, this time without a sleeping Jamie, Oliver assumes Tommy picked up his daughter and took her to one of the team’s private boxes at the top. Both women are looking on at the last bit of the show pointing out various things, but have yet to turn back in their direction.

“I can do it,” Katie promises.

She presses a kiss to Oliver’s cheek just before he places her on the grass and he watches as she dashes across the short distance between him and the bleachers. When the women finally notice her, he still waits till she’s seated between Felicity and Thea before he turns his attention back to his team, calling out orders immediately.  

0ooooo0

They _won._

He’s standing in front of a million cameras, the crowd is roaring, and he’s holding up the Wing Bowl which was a cartoon like canary and hawk facing off a football between the two. It looks as comical as it sounds, the yellow canary a quarter the size of both the football and the hawk, but with a determined scowl on its face.

There are millions of people cheering around him, slapping him on the back and arm and just anyway they can welcome him back to the game. His shoulder is _sore_ but he’s pretty sure it’s no worse that it normally is on a bad day, at least he hopes so.

Coach Wilson is standing next to him, hand clamped on his good shoulder as he speaks to some of the local reporters; Congratulating the Canaries on a good game, commenting that the annual game is always fun, but also acknowledging the obvious thing everyone is thinking, that Oliver is indeed back in full swing.

Oliver smiles widely, nodding in agreement with the coach, allowing Wilson to take the reins while he clears away most of the vultures before they start questioning Oliver. Not that hey haven’t already.

“Oliver, does this mean you will be back in time for football season at the end of the summer?”

“Oliver, you seemed to be favouring your injured shoulder. Is your injury not as healed as you would like us to believe?”

“Oliver, what is the likelihood of the Seahawks gaining their momentum and taking the championship as everyone thought they would have last season?”

“Oliver, is it true that you have a daughter? Have you and Felicity been hiding this all along?”

There is a small hush of silence that falls over the small group of reporters and cameramen alike. The few team members that are lingering around in the background all stand straight, clearly ready to jump in. It’s obvious the news of Oliver’s daughter never quite reached the ears of the sports reporters, probably more the gossip rags of the city.

Oliver clears his throat immediately, gaining the entire media group’s attention, microphones and phones alike are shoved into his face, every camera focusing on him, “I do. She will be four at the end of the month and Felicity is not her mother. Yes, I’ve known about her all her life. There will be no further questions about my daughter or the identity of her mother.”

“What’s your daughter’s name?”

Coach Wilson sends the report a withering glare, but Oliver sighs and looks at the woman in question, “Katie.”

With that Oliver is ready to step away from the crowd of reporters, this is not a formal setting so they are all just gathered around the small podium in the corner of the field. The teams have since dispersed much like the crowd, so that there are more official workers than actual fans hanging around. Which is the norm for these friendly games.

“Daddy! Are you done yet?” Katie’s voice is loud and demanding, despite the fact that there is a small group of people surrounding them. Everyone’s eyes now trained on the subject of their inquires.

She tugs repeatedly on Oliver’s jersey looking up at him with impatient eyes, not at all deterred by the small crowd surrounding her father, or the cameras or any of it really. Oliver wants to blame Sara for their daughter’s lack of fear, but he’s pretty sure he’s partially to blame for that as well. He looks down at Katie then to the back to see Felicity standing a few feet away looking at him apologetically. Thea is nowhere to be seen and Felicity is looking nervously at him unsure if she did the right thing letting Katie go to him.

Oliver makes a quick decision and scoops Katie up in his arms, the little girl’s eyes widening when she finally takes in the small crowd standing around the little podium Oliver and Coach Wilson are standing on. Oliver presses a kiss to Katie’s cheek and just whispers to her to say hi.

“Hello people,” Katie greets confidently. More confidently than Oliver expected, but then Oliver remembers that Katie grew up with Sara being on the road. As the lead dancer Sara did interviews for the cameras and people just like this, maybe not to this large of a gathering, but enough that the toddler is familiar with it.

Her greeting has the entire crowd laughing, which only encourages Katie, “Can my Daddy leave now? He and Fel’city are taking me to Chuckee Cheese to play the wack-a-mole.”

“Is your Mommy going too?” Some idiotic report asks, and immediately Oliver is on the defense ready to step away, while Coach Wilson has a hand up in the air in warning.

Katie however, takes no heed to anything around her and just tilts her head to the side and looks at the man thoughtfully, “No, my Mommies don’t like sports. Mommy says all the boys on Daddy’s team smells stinky, and they do.”

This time the entire crowd is in an uproar, most laughing at Katie’s tale, but Oliver can see the way the reporters are scribbling furiously on their notepads or speaking into their phones. All of them scrambling to get every detail they can and Oliver just knows there is a shit storm brewing. Coach Wilson raises his hand in front of Oliver and Katie and signals the end of questions, thanking everyone for their time.

When it’s just them remaining, Felicity is shifting from foot to foot looking at Oliver in horror. Oliver squeezes her arm in reassurance seeing the guilt on her face immediately. He hands Katie over to Felicity and then turns back to Coach Wilson, who only shakes his head, “Kid, I’m sorry that got out of hand, but…”

“I’ll have to talk to Tommy immediately and see what my PR team can do. The press aren’t usually this _tenacious_ at this family game,” Oliver concludes with a sigh. He’s going to get an earful from not only Tommy but Diane ,his newest publicist.

“It’s because it’s your first game since your injury. I saw some people from ESPN lurking in the back, this wasn’t just Starling City’s press, there were people that came out of state for this.”

“Bloody Hell,” Felicity’s curse is _loud_ and completely British so much so it has Slade doing a double take, but Katie’s loud gasp and finger to Felicity’s lip distracts the older man.

“You gotta put money in the swear jar!”

“Sorry, Katie.” Felicity apologizes, but then nips Katie’s finger earning a giggle in return.

Slade looks at Felicity thoughtfully but then smirks at Oliver, “You already payin’ for her college tuition out of that jar, Queen?”

Oliver grunts, raising his hand in pretense of scratching his beard, but really flipping the older man off which Slade catches onto immediately. Slade only laughs in response and claps Oliver on the shoulder, “Good game. See me in my office 7 am on Monday, we have some things to discuss with your physio.”

Oliver nods shaking the other man’s hand knowing immediately that the coach caught on to Oliver’s playing and they need to discuss his shoulder’s capabilities. The dull pain in his shoulder, somehow magnifying now that he knows the coach is very much aware of it.

Felicity looks at him with concern not missing the hidden meaning behind the exchange, but Oliver shakes his head and presses a kiss to her temple, “Let’s go have some pizza.”

“Wack-a-mole?” Katie perks up excitedly.

“And Wack-a-mole,” Oliver says with a nod ruffling the girl’s hair.

They make their way to the lockers and for the time being Oliver puts the impending meeting out of his mind.

* * *

 

A few hours, tons of pizza and too much candy later, Oliver and Felicity slowly walk up Felicity”s driveway after dropping Katie off at her mothers’ place. Oliver loves his daughter, but the sun’s still out and his body is aching all over; the day’s events finally catching up to him and he’s pretty sure he would not have had the energy to keep up with Katie tonight if she had stayed with him.  Now he’s just ready to crash in Felicity’s ridiculously soft bed, no questions ask.

“I ate so much food, I think I’m going to explode,” Felicity moans softly. She leans against the banister, waiting for Oliver to open the door, clearly too tired to do it herself. She goes through the mail sorting them out into two piles, her finger separating hers from Caitlin’s.

Oliver steps into the foyer, tossing his sneakers to the side almost immediately, it’s not until he’s hanging up his jacket that he realize Felicity has yet to walk into the house. He takes a step forward and pokes his head outside, a lazy smile on his face.  “Hey you planning to sleep out here? I know you like your hammock, but I’m going to have to ask that we sleep on a….Felicity what’s wrong?”

Felicity is holding a purple sheet of paper, her hands trembling as her eyes scan the black font over and over and over. Oliver’s heart skips a beat as he rushes to her side, grasping her hand gently, “Felicity?”

She looks at him startled for a moment, clearly never hearing his approach, before he can ask yet again she is grabbing his hand and tugging him forcefully into the house. She slams the door closed, locking it and then activating the keypad and the security codes. The note is now crumpled between her fingers as she works furiously on the small flat screen she has located behind the coat closet.

“Felicity, you’re starting to scare me.” Oliver voice trembles, but Felicity’s muttered ‘NOs’ only increase as her fingers fly across the screen in front of her.

“ _Felicity!_ ” Oliver all but shouts at her, his fingers pressing into her shoulders as he forcibly turns her to face him.

She looks at him with wide eyes, body still in shock, “Felicity, what did the note say?”

“Oliver, I’m so very sorry,” Felicity says mournfully, “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

Oliver stiffens at her words, his gaze moving to the crumpled paper in her hand to her face, “About what?”

Felicity’s grip tightens on the piece of paper, but remains silent longer than Oliver cares for.

“ _Felicity!_ ”

He watches as she bites her lip, her body still trembling, but she pushes on through, “I need to tell you the truth.”

“The truth about what, Felicity?” Oliver all but growls his patience dwindling.

“My name…” Her breath catches and she sucks in a deep breath, her words completely altering everything Oliver has known for the past five months.

“My name isn’t Felicity Smoak. My name is Emily Walker but Emily Walker is dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If some of you follow me on tumblr you would be aware of the story behind this fic. This fic started off as one thing almost made it to a book stage but then I fell in love with Olicity and they were able to make this fic for what it is. That said while this fic was in the early stages of an original novel the character of Felicity Smoak was called Emily Walker. This fic was initially developed long before I started watching Arrow and the idea of her not being who she said she was, was always in the plans. That said when it was time for to give her a birth name, I stuck with Emily as a nod to the original character I was building. The fact that Felicity Smoak is played by Emily Bett was a total hilarious coincidence (and my love for the name Emily). I was very attached to the name Emily Walker long before this, hence my reasoning to use it otherwise I would have never been THAT obvious with the different name.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its finally here! Felicity's secret. I really hope that the wait was worth it :) 
> 
> Thanks again to Denise for the beta :)

Oliver staggers back at her words, his eyes widen and his mind going a mile a minute. Felicity tries to take a step towards him, but he shakes his head and stumbles against the door trying to put some distance between them.  

“I’ll let you go, but I’d prefer if you let me explain first,” Felicity says solemnly. Her hand hovers over the  tablet screen that is mounted behind the closet door looking at him hopefully.

“I don’t understand,” Oliver gasps out, his mind still reeling.

Out of all the things he expected her to tell him, that was _not_ one of them. Does he even know her at all? Or was everything he learned about her over the past few months, as fake as her name?

“Witness protection?” Oliver asks, his mind grasping at the first explanation he can think of.

“Kinda?....But not _entirely,_ ” Felicity looks at him sheepishly. Her shoulders almost touch her ears and under different circumstances Oliver would have just laughed at how _cute_ she was, but she’s joking about _witness protection_.

“Either you are or you aren’t, Felicity.” Oliver growls impatiently. “Sorry, _Emily_.”

Felicity frowns at him, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she looks at him with pleading eyes. “Oliver.”

“Can you just tell me the story so I can go?” Oliver snaps. He’s much harsher than he intends, but he’s just so _tired_ of the run around, of Felicity skirting the truth and conveniently leaving out things.

He steps to the side and moves into the living room, not really in the mood to stand in her foyer to hear this conversation. He takes a seat on the lone, single armchair and tries to ignore her crestfallen expression. She takes the seat opposite to him, fingers twisting nervously.

“Do you remember when I told about my ex, Cooper?” He hates when she starts off her stories with questions rather than just _telling_ him what he needs to hear. But he nods nonetheless knowing that Felicity usually needs time to process things before she speaks.

“Cooper…Cooper wasn’t exactly a _good_ man.” She scoffs to herself at the notion and presses her palm to her forehead. “I was a 17 year old freshman at university, still trying to find my niche and very much _not_ respected because I was much younger than everyone else. Until Cooper came and charmed me in more ways than one. It wasn’t just that he was the first guy to find me attractive, but he was the first one to respect me for my intelligence and actually was attracted to _that_ first. Ironically, he once told me he preferred blondes.”

Felicity fingered the end of her blonde hair tugging on it thoughtfully. Oliver isn’t exactly surprised by this, after all Felicity goes to the hairdresser regularly, but then again so does his sister and Thea’s not exactly _hiding_ a secret identity.

“You mentioned going to college in Oxford, how did you end up in Ireland?” Oliver prompts trying to get her back on track to the story. He suspects the dyeing of her hair came much later in her story.

“Cooper runs a company, Gallagher’s Wines and Spirits. It’s a family company and they very much like to keep it in the family.”

“Sounds like the mafia,” Oliver jokes. He is clearly trying to lighten the mood, but the way Felicity’s body stiffens and she looks across at him with a pointed look, his blood runs cold.

“The _mafia_? Felicity how could you even…”

“I didn’t know okay?” Felicity snaps. “Not before it was too late. Cooper told me that they were looking to expand their _wine_ company and  plant some vineyards in different parts of the world, Canada, Europe and England. They only wanted to expand their business, but because they wanted to keep it in the family, they needed some type of surveillance. Cooper knew I was majoring in Cyber Security and promised me, that I would be in charge of that division to watch over all the various vineyards and personnel running it.”

“It doesn’t sound like that time consuming of a job though,” Oliver interjects. “Not for the long run at least.”

“That’s what I said.” Felicity perks up a bit now, and Oliver realizes by involving himself in the conversation he’s making her feel a bit more comfortable. “But then Cooper said I could help out other businesses because he knew many people with both small and large companies that needed that type of security. And back in 2010 many people were starting to look into these things, wanting to do it for themselves rather than trust the big security firms, at least that is what Cooper wanted me to think. I was in love and stupid and thought that was an amazing idea, and I told him I was on board, _after_ I finished my degree. Cooper said they needed the surveillance equipment set up almost immediately in California and Canada. Napa Valley and Niagara were the first two places they chose. He made the entire thing sound so magical and romantic. A months long visit in a foreign country together, he painted it like us against the world fairytale. I was 18 by then and thought I was very much a grown up and could make my own decisions, so despite my mother’s protests I left the house and school and followed Cooper blindly...stupidly.”

“That is what ended your relationship with your mother?” Oliver asks softly. Her small nod and the way she wipes her eyes, her glasses slightly askew, has him scooting to her and taking her hand in his. He then remembers Felicity’s earlier words and comes to a horrifying conclusion, “Your mother. _She_ thinks Emily Walker is dead.”

Felicity releases a soft sob, and nods her head. She curls her legs up under her, her chin resting on her knees as she softly sobs. Despite his anger Oliver could never just sit there and watch her cry, he quickly moves to her, resting on the armrest allowing her to curl into his body and rubs her back soothingly. He knows there is so much more of the story he needs to know, but he’s put enough together to know that Felicity’s choices weren’t something she did out of free will, but out of necessity.

He tugs her hair out of the tight ponytail, and runs his fingers through it knowing how much she enjoys the comfort of it. Felicity rubs her nose in his t-shirt sniffling softly, her fingers tugging lightly on the frayed edges of his cargo pants.

“I had to do it, not just to keep me safe, but to keep her safe. If they thought I was alive, she would be the first person they’d go after to get information. I couldn’t do it.” Felicity confesses, basically confirming his suspicions, but he still doesn’t understand why the mafia would want her in first place, other than the fact that she clearly knows a lot about their business, then again knowledge alone could set these people off.

She repeats her last words a few more times, sobbing into his chest and Oliver rubs her back trying to calm her down before she gets hysterical. “Baby…shh… I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that?”

He slips off her glasses, folding and then tucking them into his side pocket before he slides down into the seat and pulls Felicity into his lap. He presses a kiss to the crown of her head, fingers rubbing soothing circles along her back. “I got you.”

“Why?” Felicity’s voice is soft and raspy. Her eyes are bloodshot and she’s looking at him in perplexity, as though she just does not understand him. “Why are you doing this? After everything…”

“ _Because_ of everything. I love _you_ , Felicity.”

He doesn’t say it like a confession. He doesn’t say it as though it will solve all their problems or a form of absolution. No, he says it with conviction, because she is _it_ for him and he’s not going anywhere.  Don’t get him wrong, he’s _angry,_ so very angry at her for keeping this from him for so long. But, at the same time, watching her struggle with this, watching how something that happened to her over five years ago has torn her up so much, he can’t hold it against her.

He won’t hold it against her.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Oliver promises her. He can see the way her eyes widen in surprise; he can feel some of the tension leave her body at his declaration. “But I need you to finish the story, so we can deal with the issue _now.”_

Felicity bites her lip, and he can see she wants to question him further, make sure that he’s certain of his word, of his promise. Oliver looks at her pointedly then at the crumpled piece of paper on the table, he has not forgotten that and he _knows_ neither as she, by the way her eyes cast to the paper throughout her story. Felicity nods, and squeezes his fingers before she slips off his lap and presses her back to the armrest facing him, her feet curled up under her. He’s grateful that she put some distance between them, without him having to ask her.

She wipes her eyes of the last bit of tears and resumes her story once again. “I got to visit both countries, spent about a month teaching their technicians -- all of whom were Gallagher blood relatives -- how to work the basics of it, while  I would run all the systems back in Ireland. For the first six months or so, everything was working great; Cooper and his Uncles enjoyed the work that I did. I even did a few small jobs for business associates of theirs -- all within the Gallagher family of course -- everything was working out essentially as Cooper had promised. After about a year or so,  Cooper wanted me to help monitor some shipment orders. At the time I thought they were getting things for one of the small businesses, you know like stationary or something.  I thought they were being paranoid, I wasn’t _that_ naive. I knew that the business world, _their_ business world was not black and white and that some people were trying to rip them off. So I hacked into security feeds for them, made sure no one was stealing from them like Cooper asked.  Until one day, he asked me to override a shipment, to _change_ the labels on some freights as well as the numbers. That’s when I started to get worried, that the business was illegal, but Cooper said it was all part of the business and that I would not understand.”

Oliver grunts at the notion that Felicity would not understand anything, more like the asshole was dragging her into things without informing her how deeply involved she would be.

“By then I felt like I was in too deep, I couldn’t go back to my mother. I couldn’t just leave, I knew too much for them to allow me to leave. So I helped him, part of me still loved Cooper so I stuck around for him, despite the fact that is was obvious that he had been using me all along. Then one day, the head of the brotherhood, I guess you could call them, came to me. They wanted me to use my software to hack into one of the federal banks; they wanted me to enhance the software I was using to hack into the shipment orders, to hack into the bank to steal money. They wanted me to enhance my initial programs so they could steal money without the bank ever knowing. That’s when I started to panic and realized I was in _way_ over my head. I couldn’t refuse, or else they’d kill me. I couldn’t run or else they would find me, or go to my mother. So I did the only thing I could, I faked my death.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Oliver asks, his mind still trying to grasp all that she just told him. “Offer up all your knowledge for immunity for yourself and your mother?”

“I refused to bring her into this. It’s not her fault I made a terrible decision, I refused to get her involved at all.” Felicity says with conviction. “It was my only option.”

“So you faked your death, created a new identity and moved over across the Atlantic,” Oliver clarifies. He licks his lips, suddenly feeling a bit breathless at this new information. “ _How_? How do you even begin to do that?”

“Not legally,” Felicity answers his silent question, but she has no remorse in her tone. He knows she is not apologizing for what she did and he’s unsure if that scares him, or makes him proud. “Creating an identity out of thin air is much harder than it sounds, there are too many documents that would need to be made, but _switching_ identities, that is easier. Well easier is a relative word, probably more _doable.”_

_Now_ , he’s scared.

He presses his back into the sofa and looks at her horrified. Felicity though takes one look at his expression and _scoffs_. “I didn’t _kill_ anyone, Oliver. Jeez, you and Barry have ridiculously low expectations of me. Granted, Barry had only known me for a month or two, but do I look like a killer to you?”

She’s _joking_ , she’s actually sitting in front of him joking about this and he doesn’t know if he should be appalled or amused with her, which he thinks speaks to how deep _he_ is in this with her.

“Well, I don’t know this Emily Walker. Who knows what she’s capable of?” Oliver means to say it in jest, but his words come out harder than he intended. Her crestfallen expression doesn’t guilt him for his words, because as harsh as it sounded, he’s not _wrong_.

“No, but you know _me._ Felicity may not have been the name I was born with, but this is who I am. These past few months the only person you’ve been getting to know, the only person you fell in love with was _me._ I promise you that. I am Felicity Smoak, this is who I am.”

“I know, I’m still trying to understand all this.” Oliver explains. He doesn’t want to fight with her, he knows it makes no sense focusing on why she didn’t tell him and instead focus on the fact that she finally is, even if part of him still resents her just a little bit for not telling him sooner.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have joked about that,” Felicity apologizes. “I didn’t kill anyone. What I did was spend endless days monitoring the coroner's office and news reports for missing people, missing tourists to be precise. Once I realized taking up someone else’s identity was my only option, I had to look for someone who would not be missed, but at the same time I just couldn’t wait for a freak accident to happen.”

“Felicity, you’re not exactly reassuring me on the no killing thing.”

“Oh! No! I needed Cooper to think I was dead so I made a huge spectacle of getting away from him and his men. I couldn’t just _run_ because they would find me, they could go looking for my mother. I had to make it look like I died to _them_ and then later on ensure that _everyone_ including Cooper and his family thought I was dead.”

He always knew Felicity was smart, the way her mind would approach a problems always fascinated him, but this takes it to another level. The details she clearly thought of to pull this off, the fear she felt if she didn’t, it blows his mind. Five years ago he thought sneaking around with Sara was the most dangerous thing he’d ever done; it’s child’s play compared to what Felicity had to deal with. “How did you even begin to do that, on your own?”

“I jumped off a cliff.” Felicity says bluntly. He can see the way her body trembles slightly, and he knows despite her tone, she’s not too fond of reliving this story. He reaches out to her barefoot squeezing it lightly in reassurance. She licks her lips and tugs up her football jersey to show him the thin scar he’s all too familiar with, that rests just below her right breast, “Sometimes, the best laid plans can go wrong.”

“You said that was from a swimming accident,” Oliver accuses.

“Yes, I jumped into the ocean and underestimated the area and nicked it on a rock. I told you all that when you asked me,” she points out. It’s not a _lie_ , but it’s not exactly the truth either.

“Was every story you told me some edited version of the truth? Was   _anything_ you told me about your past not laden with hidden meanings or vague outlines of what actually happened?”  Oliver asks unable to hide the hurt in his voice.

That story in particular Oliver remembers well. It was their first night together and after round two or three they were both so spent. He was just dancing his fingertips across her skin, something she adores, and when he saw it, he asked her and she told him that she jumped into the ocean once and underestimated the rocks around her. She then went on to tell him all about the coastlines in Ireland and how beautiful it was during summer.  He never did have time to ask her to elaborate on that story; he was too wrapped up in her to really pay attention to the details or to ask.

“Oliver, I need you to know I _never_ lied to you.” Felicity implores. She sits up straight and scoots closer to him, her legs folded and her knees pressed up against his. “Everything I’ve told about my past, _everything_ has been truth. You always knew my time in Ireland and England weren’t always good and you respected that enough not to prod too much into my past and I never thanked you for that.  Trust me when I say you _know_ all my good stories from Ireland, there just wasn’t that much to tell.”

Oliver nods, tracing the small scar against her kneecap, having never noticed it before now. “What about this scar?”

“That actually can lead into the rest of my story.” Felicity lays her hand on his own squeezing it lightly. “I did extensive research on the coasts of Ireland, more specifically the coasts that the vineyard was on. Did you know there are _caves_ in these cliffs? Like little nooks no one can see unless you _swim_ there and apparently three years on my high school swimming team didn’t exactly prepare me for my escape. I nicked this against a rock when I was rushing to get to dry land.  I swam to the next bay over and hung out in a cave for a day; gave them enough time to look for me while I waited things out.  I couldn’t bank on them just giving up on me, because I knew they would cover their tracks and go looking to tie up _my_ loose ends. My mother evidently.”

“So you just hung out in a _cave_ for weeks?” Oliver asks flabbergasted.

If he didn’t know better he’d think this entire tale was just that, a _fictitious_ story told by a desperate woman and he’s slowly beginning to realize why Felicity never told him this story. He’s still not sure how he can believe it, but then he knows she has no reason to _lie_ either.

“Not weeks, just a day or two. I packed food and drinks. I told you, this wasn’t me going out on a limb, this was me planning for _months_. That software they wanted me to build? That took _months_ to develop, they knew that and wanted my entire focus on it, so that allowed me time to plan my escape, down to the very last detail. My biggest roadblock of course was the identity; if I could create one or just assume one of someone who had recently died and just tweak things, the latter being my initial plan.  As luck would have it, well lucky for _me_ not so much this poor girl, there was a young woman, a Jane Doe. She had a boating accident off the coast of Scotland, her face unrecognizable due to the accident and no one could identify her. It was just sheer luck on my part that I even heard the little old men at the docks talking about it. Naturally, I hacked into the coroner's office to find out more in formation. I used their dental records on her and searched for her beyond their capabilities. Felicity Smoak, only child, parents died in a terrible crash when she was a baby and she was in and out of foster homes till she was 18. She was ghost; there was next to no information about her, no social media, no legal documents beyond her passport, social security number you know the basics. She was in Scotland for an uncertain amount of time, I think she was just backpacking through Europe but started with the UK first. It was the _perfect_ opportunity for me. ”

It’s at this point in her story where Felicity stops to take a deep breath, she bite her lips and looks at Oliver with such uncertainty. Her eyes fill with tears yet again and Oliver scoots over tugging her to his side. “I’m not proud of what I did. Taking this woman’s identity and reducing her to _nothing._ I did what I had to, but I still…I couldn’t….”

“You were in a desperate situation and did what you had to do,” Oliver says softly. He can’t even begin to imagine the guilt she probably felt, despite the fact that _she_ wasn’t the one to kill the woman and essentially had nothing to do with it.

Felicity nods rubbing her nose against his t-shirt yet again, she takes a deep breath and then scoots away from him. At his confused expression she lays a hand on his leg, her voice a little stronger than before.

“I need to finish this, once and for all.” He nods in understanding and gesturing her to continue, he catches the purple note on the coffee table, and remembers once again what got them to this point in the first place.

“I won’t go into the details, but I did a big digital switch, then got a few sketchy people to get the documents I needed with money I stole from Cooper and his family and then I bought a ticket to New York City. Once I was on the run I obviously changed my look, bought some glasses and I’d lost some weight through this whole ordeal, which also helped with my new look. From then on I was… I _am_ Felicity Smoak.”

Oliver nods, his gaze lingering on the piece of paper on the table. “I do wish you would have told me this from early on, and not waited _months_ to tell me. I’m not going to turn you into the police or anything. I just want you to trust me.”

“I _do_.” Felicity implores, grabbing  his hands yet again and tugging on them lightly. “I do trust you. I was afraid you’d look at me differently, think less of me.”

“Felicity, _that’s_ you not trusting me,” Oliver all but grumbles.

He squeezes her knee however and then leans forward to grab the crumpled piece of paper. She bites her lip and he can feel the way her body tenses at the note, but she nods at him giving him permission to open it.

He opens the small bit of paper and frowns when he sees the typed up message.

_I've been spending all my time_

_Just thinking about you_

_I don't know what to do_

_I think I'm fallin' for you_

Oliver reads the message, once, then twice and the frowns just depeens, “Is this lyrics to a song?”

Felicity nods, “Colbie Caillat – Fallin for You. It’s a message from Cooper. That was the song we first kissed to in the movie theatre.”

Oliver gives her an incredulous look at which Felicity rolls her eyes. “I was _seventeen_ at the time, Oliver. I’m just glad it wasn’t some Miley Cyrus song and look that’s not the point, the point is Cooper _knows_. He knows I’m alive and he’s _here_. First the flowers, now this. He’s looking for me, Oliver.”

“Are you sure it’s not just a fan?” Oliver asks with uncertainty. At her offended look he scoots over to her placing a hand on her thigh. “Hear me out? The flowers and the lyrics kind of go hand in hand, you told me you’ve had some over enthusiastic fans, this could be that. Do you have any evidence that it is him?”

“No, but…”

“Well, lets not think worst case scenarios, okay?” Oliver says calmly. “You were pretty thorough and the likelihood of him even finding you here is slim to none right? After all you go by another name so even if you looked ‘kinda’ like the old you. He’d have no proof, right?”

“That’s making a lot of assumptions.” Felicity counters, her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip nervously. “And you know what they say about assuming … I really don’t want to just assume Oliver. Cooper is a _dangerous_ guy, with a lot of equally scary friends.”

“Do you want me to call Sara’s father? He’s the Captain of the SCPD.” Oliver offers, but on seeing Felicity’s horrified expression he raises his hands in defense. “Okay no to that?”

“Oliver, you cannot tell _anyone_ about this,” Felicity implores. “Especially, not the cops. I basically committed identity theft. I’m pretty sure no matter the reason, there would be jail time in my future. Do I really look like a girl that can handle jail? I can’t be anyone’s bitch, Oliver.”

Oliver can’t help but snort at her words, he knows this isn’t a laughing matter, but he can’t hold back his chuckle. Felicity though does not take too kindly to his reaction and slaps him lightly on the shoulder, “It’s not _funny_!”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. Let’s take this one thing at a time, you’ll do your magic finger bit. Find out more information about where this came from and the flowers before we figure something out, okay?”

Felicity nods in agreement and sighs deeply as she collapses against Oliver. Her fingers slip between his and she brings her clasps fingers towards her, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For listening to me. For understanding. For not running. All of it,” Felicity admits softly, she tilts her head towards him so she’s looking him in the eye, “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d left.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise you.”

They sit in silence, preoccupied with their own thoughts. Oliver still is processing everything she’s told him, unsure what to think when Felicity’s arms slip under his  t-shirt pulling him closer to her. “Oliver, what if I’m right? What if it’s really him? What are we going to do?”

He honestly does not know, the mafia isn’t exactly something he deals with. He wouldn’t even know where to begin, but he can’t exactly tell her that either. He needs to be strong for her as well. “We’ll figure it out. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

For the first time in their relationship, Oliver lies to Felicity, he doesn’t know what’s in store for them, but he knows he can’t very well tell her that. He knows he needs to fix this, he just doesn’t know how or where to begin. He just hopes Felicity is wrong, and they are really just dealing with an overzealous fan.

If only he could think of a time since he’s known her when Felicity was _wrong_.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, usually I write these chapters over the weekend but last weekend was a double whammy of celebrations in my family that took away my writing time. Thank you all for your comments I am so very glad all of you enjoyed Felicity's reveal and Oliver's reaction to her news I did in fact keep her from telling him her secret for this very reason. 
> 
> As some of you may see there is finally an endpoint with this fic four more chapters and then an epilogue. I have it all planned out just to write it, that said it could very well end up being less than four chapters it all depends on how the story unfolds. Thank you all so very much for sticking with this story and with me :)
> 
> Thanks to my beta Denise as always for editing this

She walks out of the dance studio her eyes immediately closing as the bright sunlight shines down on her. She stands to the side of the busy street, her back pressed against the wall as she searches through her handbag for her sunglasses. She’s got her iPad  pressed between her chin and her chest, and her travel hairbrush between her teeth, when she suddenly feels like someone is watching her, _again._ It's the second time today she's felt like this, an unease settling low in her belly. She thought someone was behind her on her way to her dance studio so she altered her route and entered the building from a different entrance, and also came out on a different street. Her body tenses, her fingers grasp her sunglasses and at the same time she tugs it out of her bag, she lets her iPad slip into her handbag. She slides her sunglasses on and her eyes immediately begin to roam the surrounding area. There are pedestrians all around her but no one seems to be paying her any attention. She notices a man sitting across the street, newspaper on his lap obscuring him from her vision. She can just barely make out the tops of a Central City Canaries baseball cap which puts her on edge for some reason. It’s not unusual to see someone enjoying the newspaper on a bench, but she still keeps her eyes out for that man because it's the second time she has seen someone with that cap, and while it's uncommon to see someone wearing one, it's not completely unheard of, but she still keeps track of it as well as his outfit of light grey t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

She slips back into the foot traffic heading to the parking garage that holds her car. One of the things she loves about Starling City is the accessibility and affordability of parking in the downtown area compared to the horror that was Manhattan. Then again when public transport was so much more efficient she could never imagine driving on the island anyway.

She takes a turn down 5th Avenue and yet again feels the prickling at the back of her neck like someone is watching her. She once more scans the streets, making sure to look as though she’s looking for something in particular and she sees the baseball cap again. Her heart rate increases and her palms begin to sweat and she quickly makes her way into the nearest store, which happens to be an old, little coffee shop. She buys a cup of coffee and then tucks herself in a little nook of the shop away from prying eyes and she pulls out her iPad checking for any updates from the softwares that are currently running on her computers at home.

It’s been only been four days since the incident with the note and she is no closer to figuring out who sent it. She tries to keep an open mind, more for Oliver’s sake than herself, thinking it’s not as terrible as they’ve made it out to be but yet she has no evidence to support her claims, which Oliver points out time and time again to her. He’s getting anxious to say the least; he’s all but moved into her house for the time being, and hired a bodyguard to follow Katie. He has yet to tell Sara of the latest development, but Felicity knows that even if they have no news by the end of the week, Oliver is going to have to tell Sara what’s going on something Felicity is not particularly comfortable with, but she can’t exactly protest either.

The saying no news is good news isn’t exactly welcomed in this circumstance because it only puts her and Oliver at unease. With her searches -- facial recognition, credit cards and flight information --  all turning up negative, she can’t help but feel like they are sitting ducks now and she is unsure what their next step would be. Oliver was more than impressed when he saw what she’s actually capable, and she smugly thinks he was slightly intimidated as well.. She has some contacts back in Ireland who she _thinks_ she should be able to trust but she doesn’t want to turn that rock over, and make her presence known unless she is 100% sure that Cooper is in fact after her.

Her current unease of being followed only seems to magnify her suspicions. She peers out the window and her goosebumps raise when she sees the same man from before leaning against the corner of an alleyway. He’s standing out of the foot traffic, but has a clear view of not only the entrance to the coffee shop but to the window Felicity is sitting by. She still can’t see his face because his baseball cap is turned down very low, but it sets her on edge almost immediately.

This is not good, not good at all.

She shifts in her seat, her grip tightening on the coffee cup as she keeps sending glances across the street. The tall bulky man is still standing at attention watching her closely. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, she knows she’s safe for now in the store but she can’t exactly camp out here forever.  She takes a sip of her coffee but then decides against it when the beating of her heart increases with each passing minute.  She places the the coffee up on the window sill, peering out at the window again and sure enough the guy is _still_ standing there.

She needs to figure a way out of this coffee shop other than the front entrance. She knows all these little eating places have to have a kitchen and back entrance, she just needs to figure out how to get there. She can’t call Oliver because Oliver has Katie for the day and she refuses to call him for that very reason. She looks out the window again and frowns when she sees the same man still looking at her not even pretending to be conspicuous. It's in that moment she decides she needs to make a run for it. She places her gym bag on the window sill and resting her still full coffee cup next to it, she grabs her handbag and slowly makes her way towards the restroom. The moment she is out of sight of the window she takes an abrupt turn and heads to the kitchen area which luckily for her is connected to a small hallway and at the very end of the hallway is the emergency exit. She scans the small area making sure no one is paying her attention and easily slips out into the brightly lit alleyway.

She breathes a sigh of relief and makes her way towards 6th Avenue, not running to appear obvious but at the same time not taking a midday stroll. She's just about to turn the corner when the sound of crunching gravel catches her attention, she glances over her shoulder to see a Seahawks cap and immediately takes off into a run.

"No. No. No." She mutters to herself as she picks up speed, and she curses her rotten luck when she realizes she is _not_ on 6th Avenue as she anticipated but instead on Donaldson Street, the small _dead end_ street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

" _Frack_!" Felicity mutters, and of course this street has no stores for her to slip in and is one of the few residential only areas in downtown.

"Ms. Smoak!" The man calls out to her. She can hear the half exasperation in his tone and she huffs in annoyance because _no_ she is not going to make kidnapping or attacking her an _easy_ task.

She pulls out her phone, her sneakers still slapping against the pavement as she runs towards the dead end, because turning around is not an option right now. She presses speed dial one and is so grateful that Oliver has been practically attached to his phone whenever he's not with her.

" _Oliver_!" She gasps out breathlessly, her fingers clutching to the phone tightly, her fear increasing tenfold, "I'm being followed. I'm on Donaldson Street and he's closing in on me. I don't know what to do!"

She spins around so that she is facing the person head on and frowns when she sees the reason the guy has not caught up with her, is because he has her bright pink gym bag over his shoulder _and_ her unfinished cup of coffee. What kind of attacker makes sure she has her bag and her _coffee_. He isn't even running towards her anymore, he's just casually walking up the street and with his baseball cap gone, she can see the look of exasperation on his face, one that oddly looks familiar to her. His face is round, his hair cropped short and he is clean shaven; the only blemish on his face is a thin scar running along his cheek.

" _Felicity!_ " Oliver voice echos through her speaker gaining her attention, she sees a car parked on the street and immediately uses it to distance herself from her soon-to-be attacker.

"Seriously?" The guy mutters watching as she skirts around the car with every step he takes. "They don't pay me enough for this."

Felicity frowns at his words, her phone clutched in her hand ready to use it as a weapon, and thats when she hears Oliver's voice yet again, "Oliver, he's zeroing in on me, and I don't think running around car is going to suffice."

"You think?" Comes the sarcastic remark and _not_ from her phone. Felicity levels him a glare, one which only earns a roll of eyes in response.

The _audacity_ of this man, he really has to be new to this whole ordeal if he thinks she's coming willingly, he can keep her belongings she doesn't care.

"Felicity, I need you to calm down." Oliver says seriously, no hint of panic in his voice, which she will have a few choice words when she gets out of this for him. "Does the guy have a scar on his face?"

Felicity frowns at the question wondering how Oliver could possibly know that and sinking feeling suddenly settles in her gut and she worries if this has been a set up all along. "Oliver?"

"That's Andy Diggle." Oliver continues his voice loud enough for both of them to hear and clearing her ridiculous thoughts that the panic had caused. How could she even possibly _doubt_ Oliver after all this time. Felicity looks up and gasps when she sees that Andy is now standing in front of her looking at her unamused. "I hired him to watch over you. He's John's brother."

"Mr. Queen, I was told that she _knew_ I was following her." Andy calls out in frustration. He then gives Felicity a pointed look, "While I admire your stealth Ms. Smoak I would appreciate it if you didn't run from me, it makes my job that much more difficult to protect you."

" _Oliver_." Felicity growls angrily raising her finger at her new _bodyguar_ d _,_ for a moment before she turns her back on him to focus on her ridiculous boyfriend. "You hired a _bodyguard_ for me without telling me? Oliver I am currently running under the assumption that someone may be following me and you send someone to literally tail me without informing me? Do you not realize how stupid that is?"

"I left you a note this morning on the coffee maker." Oliver says sheepishly.

"I had dance rehearsal this morning. I usually make my protein shake instead," Felicity responds dryly.  "Oliver we're living in the 21st century, you _know_ I've been checking my phone and iPad periodically. Why didn't you just send me a text? "

"Felicity, you have coffee _every_ morning even on the days you claim you won't because of dance. How was I supposed to know the one day you decide to forgo it, is the day I leave a post-it on the coffee maker?" He sounds as exasperbated as she feels.

"Something as important as this you should have followed up to make sure I knew." Felicity snaps. She then sighs deeply at her harsh tone, but it's already been said. "Look I gotta go and apologize to Mr. Diggle. I'll probably take him out for an early dinner or late lunch however you want to look at it."

"I'll see you tonight." Oliver’s response is short and leaves no room for argument. She doesn't even protest but instead just bids him goodbye and ends the call not bothering to listen to what else he has to say.

She knows she'll have to apologize tonight, they have both been on edge the past couple of days. Oliver has not left her side all week, except today and only because today was his day with Katie. He's been to every one of Felicity's rehearsals and shows never once leaving her side and Felicity has been feeling smothered to say the least. Today was the first day she finally had some time to herself, and while she appreciates him hiring a bodyguard, she just wished he would have told her, so that she wasn't on edge all day and in fact would have probably felt safer as well.

She looks up at Andy who is now sitting on the steps to an old brownstone apartment, her pink gym bag on his lap and her probably cold latte in his hand. He smiles at her warmly, surprising her to say the least, and he gets to his feet offering her his hand, "Andy Diggle."

"Felicity Smoak." They both greet unnecessarily, "I am so very sorry for today, Mr. Diggle. Had I known what you were doing I would have simply asked you to join me on my errands and not make your life difficult."

"Call me Andy." The younger man says with a chuckle, "You certainly know how to keep me on my toes Ms. Smoak. I've never lost a client in my entire tenure and I do believe that I misplaced you at least three times today. It’s comforting to know that should the reason arise you would be able to slip away from any crazy fans coming your way. That said, I do hope that you'll be making my job easier from now on."

Felicity laughs but nods her head nonetheless, "I promise to use my powers for good and not evil. Now how about I buy you lunch for all the trouble I caused you today?"

Andy chuckles loudly at her remark as she takes her duffle bag from him, slipping it over her shoulder with ease. They fall into sync as they head back to 6th Avenue and Felicity prods Andy for a few stories about her favourite physiotherapist.

* * *

Oliver huffs in exasperation when he is greeted with silence. He pulls back his phone and frowns; sure enough she hung up on him. He shakes his head just grateful that Andy had texted him 10 minutes or so _before_ Felicity's call asking if Felicity knew about the arrangement. Oliver had indeed planned to call her, but then Sara called him  asking to have a late lunch with him and he barely had time to end that phone call before Felicity called in a frenzy. Once he explained himself he still ended up with her hanging up on him.

He'll take Felicity being snippy with him any day if it means that her safety is ensured. With Felicity safely tucked away in a very public restaurant with Diggle's brother, he can now worry about the other women in his life, mainly Sara and her concern over the bodyguard that Oliver hired to keep an eye on Katie. Oliver told Sara it was just a precaution since his game earlier in the week, but really it's more about this threat on Felicity. He hates the unknown, hates that they have no clue who sent these things, and hates that they are basically sitting ducks until the asshole makes a move.

Both he and Felicity are aware that there is no way this could be an overzealous fan. The timing of each incident, the flowers and the notes coincides very much with the status of their relationship and that is not a coincidence. Someone is in fact watching them and Oliver _hates_ that they have no clue who it is. This entire week he's spent basically at Felicity's side, he's visited Katie on his own, and today was the first day he took her out just the two of them. Felicity suggested that she have no contact until this thing is over, preferring that Katie not be in Cooper's radar. Oliver is not stupid, he's well aware that his daughter may very well be in the psycho’s radar, but he's grateful at least that Felicity was the one to suggest the time apart, even though he knows how much it hurts her to keep her distance. Katie being hurt that she has not seen Felicity in over a week does not help matters either.  

Oliver for the most part has been keeping tabs on Katie and her mothers with their bodyguard Maseo Yamashiro. He asked the older man to send him daily updates on anything suspicious but so far nothing has been out of the ordinary. However, with Sara's request to have lunch with him and Katie, Oliver is wondering if his ex has gotten tired of the detail put on them, or if she suspects something is wrong. Oliver hasn't even begun to figure out what to tell her. He was surprised when Felicity gave him the okay to tell Sara, but at the same time, he prefers the fewer people who know about Felicity's illegal activities the better. Although, Sara isn’t _just_ people per se, but he doesn’t want to scare her until he has some concrete evidence to back up his claim, otherwise he suspects Sara may very well just pick up their daughter and _go_.

He pulls into the Chuck E. Cheese laughing when Katie begins to squeal in delight, “Daddy, you didnts say we were goin’ to see Chuckie!”

“It was a surprise, Bug,” Oliver says with a laugh.

“Is Fel’city going to be here?”

Her curious voice makes Oliver frown, he knows how much both she and Felicity have been missing each other the past week, but they can’t do anything about it. Felicity refuses to even go to Oliver’s house or anything associated with Katie, because she prefers to be safer rather than sorry. Something Oliver completely appreciates, but it does not make it easier to explain to his 4 year old.

“Not Felicity, she’s working today, but Mommy is waiting for us inside.” Oliver raises his voice, hoping to perk up the four year old, but Katie only slinks out of the car her shoulders hunched and her chin in her chest. “I really wants to see, Fel’city.”

“I know,” Oliver says softly hoisting her into the air and onto his hip, she may be getting too old to do this, but Oliver won’t be stopping until she tells him to. He places a kiss to her cheek, “I promise you can have a play date with Felicity later this week. But for now, put on a smile, we don’t want Mommy to think you aren’t happy to see her.”

“Oh I am!” Katie insists she places her head on Oliver’s shoulder and sighs, “I just really miss Fel’city, too.”

“She misses you too, Bug. A _lot_.”

His words seem to have the desired effect and Katie nods in understanding. By the time they get to the entrance of the restaurant she’s eager to jump out of Oliver’s arms and head to the rec area. But Oliver steers her to the right where he knows Sara is waiting. When he sees both Sara and Nyssa sitting at the same table, with matching giddy expression, he pauses, now completely confused. He’s never really had _lunch_ with his ex and her girlfriend.

“Mama!” Katie greets excitedly running up to Nyssa arms wide and ready to accept a hug, “I thoughts you weren’t coming homes till t’morrow?”

“I missed you too much.” Nyssa informs Katie and proceeds to pepper kisses along the child’s face until Katie is protesting fully with giggles.

It’s only then Oliver remembers that Nyssa had a teacher’s conference in Boston for the past three nights. He holds back a wince realizing he was keeping his distance from Katie in order to keep her safe and keep an eye on Felicity, but never offered to help Sara out. After the third day however Felicity was just about ready to kick him out, even if she didn’t _say_ so and Oliver made plans to spend the day with Katie, until this particular lunch.

“We already ordered a pizza for four of us to share.” Sara offers as Katie and Nyssa catch up.

Oliver notices the fact that she has her hands on the table and currently shredding the napkin between her fingers. The movement has him concerned almost immediately, even more so when Nyssa slides out of the booth, Katie’s hand clasped between her own and she mutters to their daughter about going to the play area while they wait for the pizza. They _never_ take Katie to the play area until after she’s eaten, or they at least set aside 30 minutes for her to play before they order the food. Oliver immediately knows something is not right. He slides into the booth and looks across at Sara expectantly, from his last talk with Maseo nothing out of the ordinary has happened, so he’s really not sure what this could be about.

“So I have some news.” Sara says in a rush, fingers tugging at the napkin more vigorously than before, her nervousness palpable.

“You’re not pregnant right?” Oliver jokes, but raises his hands in defense at the scowl Sara sends him. It’s a stupid joke and by now he should know not to poke a sleeping bear, but Sara’s skittish behaviour has completely disappeared at his ill timed joke.

“I proposed to Nyssa, and she said yes. We’re getting married,” Sara informs him in a sharp tone obviously not appreciating his joke.

Oliver freezes at her words, the last thing he expected her to tell him was _that._ He’s not jealous in any way or form, but he can’t help but think back to the two times _he_ proposed to Sara and she venomously declined. In hindsight, it was for the best, neither of them quite ready for that commitment on top of a new baby. But to hear that Sara was the one to pop the question still stings a bit.

“We aren’t asking you for your blessing or anything. I just wanted to tell you before we told Katie and you had to hear it from her.” Sara informs him, taking his silence to mean something else entirely. She reaches out to grasps Oliver forearm and calls out his name, “Oliver?”

Oliver looks up startled and then nods,licking his lips. “Congratulations, to both of you.”

“Thank you,” Sara says with a smile. “We wanted to know if you and Felicity had anything planned for Katie. We’re hoping to go to Miami to see Nyssa’s family and tell them the big news and we were also thinking of taking Katie to DisneyWorld.”

Oliver nods along, thinking this is the perfect time for Sara to take Katie away for a while, but he then pauses at the mention of Disney World. “We were thinking of taking her somewhere at the end of the summer, so now would be great time to take her to Miami, but not Disney.”

“Ollie.” Sara protests.

“Sara you _know_ how much I want to go with her, for her first time.”

“And what about Nyssa and I? Don’t we get to experience that as well?”

“We’ll go together then, all four of us and Katie.” Oliver says in exasperation. With everything that has been going on he and Felicity haven’t exactly talked about a couple’s vacation, much less a family one with Katie _and_ her mothers. He’s just moving under the assumption that Felicity is very much in this as he is, after all  her coming to him with her secret would have been moot if she was thinking on leaving and he is very much in this thing for the long run. “We can organize it all another time, you and Nyssa can even take Katie as early as this weekend to see Nyssa’s parents.”

He holds his breath at his suggestion, knowing he is coming off _very_ eager for them to take Katie away, something he has _never_ done before, but before Sara can comment both Nyssa and Katie come back to the table. Katie hops onto Oliver lap, her hands slapping on the table excitedly. Her blond hair is in disarray, the braid almost completely out  and once again Oliver wonders why he even bothers to braid her hair in the first place.

Sara is still looking at him closely, but now with Katie here, he knows she can’t bring it up and by the time the pizza arrives the thought is completely out of her mind, at least he hopes so.

* * *

“Is it really necessary for you to be here?” Felicity asks with a frown. “Not that I’m _running_ you or anything, I’m just saying if I’m going to be with my roommate for the rest of the day, stuck in a _boutique_ I figured it wouldn’t be your cup of tea.” 

Andy Diggle laughs as he leans against the stone wall crisscrossing his legs and taking a sip of his lemonade. The least Felicity could do is treat the man when he’s forced to go run her ridiculous boring and _girly_ errands with her. “This is my job Ms. Smoak, my preferences don’t matter. All I’m here to do is ensure your safety. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going inside the boutique with you. I’ll just wait out here.”

Felicity sighs in exasperation but knows the younger man is as stubborn as they come. “Alright, but if you want the day off just let me know.”

“I’ll be fine Ms. Smoak.” Andy says in amusement, this is not the first time in the past week they have had this conversation. He tilts his head towards the boutique his hand raising slightly to wave at Caitlin who had just arrived.

Felicity shakes her head but crosses the street anyway knowing she won’t be able to change his mind. She likes Andy Diggle don’t get her wrong, she just wishes she didn’t feel so _smothered_ all the time. It’s been a little over a week and half since the note and she’s beginning to wonder if she and Oliver overreacted and maybe, just maybe, it really _was_ a fan who dropped off that letter in her mailbox. Felicity shakes her head, putting those thoughts behind her and waves at Caitlin; she feels as though it’s been _ages_ since she’s seen her roommate and she just wants to forget about notes and crazy ex boyfriends for _one_ day.

“Hello, stranger!” Felicity greets hugging her tall friend. “You know I used to have a roommate that looked like you. Nice girl, smart...always encouraging me to make bad food decisions and now it seems shopping decisions too. I don’t know whatever happened to her.”

“Cute.” Caitlin laughs wholeheartedly, but looks at Felicity with a sheepish grin, “I may or may not be buttering you up.”

“What for?” Felicity asks genuinely confused. She was under the impression that Caitlin just called her to spend time together because they hadn’t seen each other in almost 2 weeks, other than in passing moments at home. Has she really been that preoccupied with her latest problems that she didn’t even pick up on the fact that Caitlin had ulterior motives?

Caitlin nose wrinkles slightly ushering Felicity into the boutique, the noise of the city drowning out the moment the door slams shut. “Ronnie and I bought a house last week, well we had been looking at some houses and we finally found  this small little condo in Eastwick and we put down an offer and they accepted!”

“Caitlin thats great!” Felicity squeals excitedly, barely noticing the other shoppers in the store as she hugs her friend tightly. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks.” Caitlin says her cheeks red and Felicity can see her eyes are twinkling with excitement. “Ronnie had asked me earlier this month, but we decided we wanted a place of our own cause his apartment was a bit too crowded with his brother as well. He’s leaving the place in Jason’s name and now we’re just figuring out which of our things we’re taking over there, although Jason is getting antsy about us taking too many things. The kid is going into his sophomore year of college and is living there rent free, he really doesn’t get how lucky he is.”

“You know that anything in your bedroom is yours, and we can always split the kitchen and living room stuff,” Felicity offers, while she was the one to mostly furnish the house she could never keep _everything_ when she and Caitlin very much shared it all.

“Oh no, maybe one or two appliances, but I figured I’d leave the bed, unless you and Oliver want to convert it into Katie’s room?”

Felicity splutters at Caitlin’s suggestion, splattering pink lemonade all over her sundress. She glares at her friend who only smirks proudly at her not so subtle hint.  It’s not the first time this has been brought up from the people in her life. She knows Oliver has been hinting at it for ages, and once he knows that Caitlin is moving out, she’s almost certain he will give up his penthouse apartment to move into her house a thought that sounds more appealing with each time he’s mentioned it. Which Felicity begins to wonder if he’s doing that purposely to warm her up to the idea, they are both very aware that if he moves in with her, it’s not just _Oliver_ that’s moving in with her. Felicity loves Katie, but the idea of being an instant parent, something she _knows_ she will have to face if they live under one roof, scares the crap out of her. She’d always known that dating Oliver included his daughter and till now she’s never really had the full time parent role and never felt like it either, but she knows if... _when_ Oliver and Katie move in with her, she’s going to have to step up and she’s not sure if she’s ready for that responsibility.

She has to admit Caitlin moving _out_ does make things so much easier for them, her absence these past few weeks also gave Felicity one fewer person to worry about, so she is more than okay with this, even if she’ll miss her roommate 

“Hey! No need to panic, just a suggestion,” Caitlin teases. She tugs Felicity to the back of the store towards the lingerie section. “Now it’s been _ages_ since we’ve gone shopping and with Jason going on some road trip with his friends, Ronnie and I _finally_ have the apartment to ourselves. I wanna buy something nice and this will probably be my last splurge since I’m now a broke homeowner.”

Felicity laughs wholeheartedly, “You still have appliances to buy, _then_ you’ll be a broke homeowner.”

Caitlin groans dramatically as she holds up a light pink teddy for Felicity to look at. Felicity shakes her head in displeasure as she fingers the soft dark green material of a corset hanging on a mannequin, when one of the sales clerks hovers at their side.

Felicity and Caitlin smile at her politely and shake their head, “We’re just looking around, thanks.”

The sales clerk actually apologizes then offers up a blank envelope to Felicity, “Someone just dropped this off for you.”

Felicity immediately tenses, taking the envelope with trepidation, Caitlin looks over at her with curious eyes, “Something from Mr. Diggle?”

“Probably, I was trying to convince him to leave for the day,” Felicity lies.

She turns her back to Caitlin not wanting her friend to see her reaction when she opens the envelope. She tears open the top and can’t contain her gasp when a small grainy image of Katie falls into the palm of her hand along with a note. The picture is one of Katie at a park, and the image makes Felicity’s blood boil. By the time she opens the piece of paper and she can feel her heart hammering in her chest, anger coursing through her veins.

_Emily,_

_Stanely Park in front of the fountain. You know what to bring. You have 24 hours_

There is no written threat, the picture alone makes Cooper’s message completely clear. Felicity crumples the paper her anger rises.

She is ending this _tonight_.

“Caitlin!” Felicity all but barks, not wanting to alert her friend to the problem, bet yet can’t control her anger. She already has her phone out and is punching out a text to Oliver, who she knows is at home with Katie for the day because the little girl had a cold. Felicity is sure the _only_ reason she is not freaking out as much as she normally would, is because she knows Katie is safe at home. “Something came up, Andy is going to take you home once you’re finish okay?”

“What? Felicity what’s going on?” Caitlin asks in confusion already picking up on Felicity’s mood.

“I just want to check on Katie,” Felicity confesses. It’s the truth even if her reasons are completely different. Her finger fly over her phone to send messages and check her other systems at home as she anxiously awaits Oliver confirmation text. “Oliver says she’s been asking for me and this cold is really bumming her out.”

“Alright _mom_.” Caitlin teases, she hugs Felicity promising to reschedule.

Felicity is barely out of the store before her phone rings, “Oliver, we have a _huge_ problem. I think you’re going to need to call Sara.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so very sorry for the delay in this story. Once I got to the one month mark I told myself it was better to just finish off the story and then start posting....a month AFTER that here I am with 2.5 chapters written and still taking forever to finish it. I decided to just post this as I go. Chapter 17 is already drafted I need to change a few things and I'm working on chapter 18 as I update this. In others updates should be frequent till the very end of this story. Thank you all who stuck around despite the LONG hiatus I took. I hope the wait will be worth it.

“Felicity, it’s me again. Can you call me back?” Oliver all but barks into the phone, he presses the end button with more force than necessary and then just growls in frustration.

It’s been almost 90 minutes since Felicity called him frantically telling him to take Katie to the airport without any explanation. It’s not that he needed one, they had a contingency plan set in place the moment Felicity told Oliver about her past with Cooper as well as her concerns for not only his safety but for Katie’s most importantly. Felicity had said she didn’t think his daughter was in danger, but she preferred to be prepared rather than take a chance on faith. The contingency plan is straightforward as it comes and given the fact that Felicity did not use their code word, things are not as dire as she thought it would be.

He received the ticket information almost immediately after she hung up on him, but he’d like to know what is going on.

“Ollie, what’s going on?” Sara asks with concern, “that is the fourth time you’ve left a message for Felicity, in just as many minutes. This is more than just some fan, isn’t it?”

He barely had time to gather Katie’s things before Sara called him demanding to know why she has tickets on her phone for a flight out to Miami. She told him point blank to not even think about calling it an engagement gift, all too aware of his less than subtle hints the previous week about her and Nyssa taking Katie on a trip. Oliver explained to her about their concern for the ‘fan’ and Felicity thought it was best that Katie was as far away from it as possible. Neither Sara nor Nyssa were pleased with that information, but went along with it nonetheless, that is until they checked in and they are now waiting on the right time to head to the gate.

“I don’t know.” Oliver says truthfully. He really has no clue what is going on. Felicity’s phone call lasted all of one minute before she hung up and clearly organized the plane tickets, but Oliver has since not heard from her.

He’s trying not to worry, trying to not let Sara know just how detrimental things have shifted. A crazy stalker fan seems shady as it is, especially if they want to get Katie out of the city immediately. He knows he’s going to have to tell her _something_ eventually.

He just wishes Felicity would _answer_ her phone. This was never part of the plan. They always suspected that Cooper would contact Felicity, but neither thought he would threaten Katie’s life like this. Felicity had a plan, a plan that entailed her finding Cooper, she promised Oliver if Cooper ever contacted her more directly she’d let him know, that she would not go off half cocked without backup. Andy Diggle isn’t stupid he’s already called out Felicity and her initial behaviour when she tried to run away. Thankfully, the bodyguard asked no questions other than wanting to know what, or whom exactly he was dealing with so he’d be on alert.  He knows enough so that he’s prepared if Cooper and his men decide to jump them but does not know the entire story. Oliver just doesn’t understand why no one is answering their phones. He made Felicity promise him to keep in contact and he worries that something worse and unplanned may have happened.

“Ollie, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor. You’re behaving worse than when I was in the hospital having Katie. I’ll ask again, what is going on?” Sara asks impatiently, patting the seat for Oliver to sit.

Nyssa had taken Katie, with the company of Mr. Yamashero of course, to get them lunch in the eating area. Oliver sighs dejectedly as he collapses into the chair next to Sara mindful of the people around them.

“I haven’t heard from Felicity. She was supposed to call me back.”

“I gathered that much.” Sara says dryly, “what’s _really_ going on, Ollie? This person that you two seem to be afraid of, this _fan_ seems to be very dangerous, enough so that you thought it necessary to have our daughter accompany by a body guard yet neither of you have contacted the police. Up until this little incident I was able to let you disrupt our lives for your peace of mind. I was running under the assumption that all this was _precautionary_ and not that an actual person has been _stalking_ your girlfriend. Which, by the way when this is all over we’ll talk about you lying about the bodyguard necessity, actually no need for later. If it’s something concerning our daughter, even if it’s by association I want the full story up front. Are we clear?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Oliver apologizes. He knows he can’t exactly go into detail on why they knew it was not a fan, not unless he tells her the full story. He’s still contemplating how much he should tell her.

Sara nods in acceptance but Oliver can still see the anger bubbling up even more so as she continues, “alright, but it’s clear that our daughter’s life is very well in danger and yet you have not picked up the phone to call my father. He is the Captain of his precinct. This is his _granddaughter_ , Oliver. Now, I’m going to ask you again, what is going on?”

“We have nothing to go on, this person is a ghost.” Oliver says truthfully. “We’ve tried tracking him down, figuring out who it is at least, but he’s _very_ good at covering his tracks. Felicity, is good with computers, _really_ good with computers. She’s been trying to find him for weeks; we’re still not sure whose fan it is to begin with. The notes aren’t threatening notes to her to stay _away_ from me, or vice versa, before this they were harmless, but not concerning. This last one though was a picture of Katie, which is why we thought it was best for you to take her out of the city for a few weeks.”

“Oliver, why the hell don’t you call my father and take that picture to him? I know you said your girlfriend is good with computers, but he has _departments_ that do these things for a living, they can find out where it was printed, who ordered it. They can do more than she can do on that iPad of hers.” 

“Yes, all things I know, but I can’t do anything if she doesn’t _call_ me back.” Oliver hisses in annoyance grabbing his phone yet again and hitting redial, this time it goes straight to voicemail.  He tosses the phone onto the table and rubs his temple in frustration. He _really_ hopes Felicity isn’t doing the very thing she promised she would _not_ do.

“Have you tried calling, Mr. Diggle?” Sara asks curiously, picking up her own phone to call Felicity, but getting no answer.

“Yes, but his phone keeps telling me it’s switched off or out of calling range.” Oliver hisses.

“This isn’t sounding good, Ollie.” Sara says with concern, she picks up her phone yet again and looks at him pointedly, “I think I should call my….”

“Promise me Sara that you will _not_ call your father.” Oliver cuts her off looking at her seriously.

Sara freezes, the severity in Oliver’s words not lost to her, she places her phone back on the table and levels him with a stern look, a look Oliver is all to familiar with, “Ollie, what aren’t you telling me?” 

* * *

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sara hisses all to aware they are surrounded by travellers. Oliver was surprised she kept quite for so long and allowed him to tell her the story without being interrupted. He purposely moved them into the dark corner booth at the eating area so they could not be heard as well.

She spins around to face Oliver, glowering at him, “you’ve been fucking a fugitive while our daughter slept in the room next door? How long have you known about this Oliver? You let this woman take care of our _child?”_

“It’s not like that!” Oliver hisses, “ Look I didn’t have to tell you…”

“Like hell you didn’t. This is our _daughter_. I have a right to know what’s going on in her life.” Sara growls, she holds onto the edge of the table and takes a deep breath before she speaks, knowing they can’t create a scene. Oliver is almost glad he took so long to tell her instead of telling her in the car like he originally planned.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. But, I can promise you that Felicity put in place every precaution she could think of to keep Katie safe. That was her _first_ priority, do you really think her lack of being around was because of work?”

“Oh.” Sara says softly. She’s notice the significant decrease in Felicity’s presence the past two weeks. She briefly wondered if Oliver’s fans and the entire limelight of Oliver’s live was too much for the younger woman and thus she was pulling away. She never considered that everything was done purposely to protect her daughter. She’s suddenly seeing the other woman in a completely new light.

“I trust Felicity to take care of this,” Oliver continues, “I need you to trust me and let me handle things. You just take care of Katie and I’ll worry about the rest.”

“Ollie, mob bosses and criminal intent, though.” Sara whispers softly, “Don’t you think you’re way in over your head? My father…”

“I can’t take the chance that they’ll deport her or worst.” Oliver confesses, his voice breaking and the days events slowly catching up to him. His silent phone sitting between them and like a dead weight on his chest, “I need to let her handle this, even if it scares me shitless.”

“Alright, you obviously know more about this, more about her capabilities than I do.” Sara concedes. “But, Ollie if you don’t hear from her like you both planned, just call my father. I know you’re worried, but its better they get involved and help her, than something happens to her.”

Oliver nods, knowing she’s right. So many times over the past few weeks he’s been itching to call Captain Lance, but the thought of losing Felicity forever always kept him from taking that plunge. He feels a hand on his shoulder and he looks across to see Sara smiling at him with sympathy, “she’ll call Ollie, as soon as she can.”

He only hopes she’s right.

“Mommy! We gots Cinnabons!” Katie trots up to the pair, her face covered with white syrup, fingers sticky as she presses them together for her parents to see, effectively distracting Oliver.

“I see that.” Sara says tersely, looking at Nyssa with exasperation.

“She started to ask some questions,” Nyssa hisses softly placing the box on table and making sure Katie is seated before she takes a seat opposite their daughter, “I was running out of options.”

“Daddy, is Felicity coming to say goodbye too?” Katie asks with a mouth full of cinnamon roll, “I haven’t seens her in _forever_.”

Oliver glances at his phone one more time, before he turns to look at Katie sadly, “Sorry bug, but Felicity is working today.”

“Does Felicity not like me anymores?” Katie asks timidly her voice trembling, immediately breaking all the adults hearts. “ She’s always workin’ ands I never gets to see her. Does she nots want to be my n’other Mommy, likes when you didn’t want to be my Daddy?

Oliver freezes at her words, his heart clenching in his chest there are so many things he needs to address in that one sentence, but he knows he just does not have the time to get into it all right now and he hates himself even more for that. One thing he can’t ignore is the fact that his daughter thinks he did not want to be her father and the fact that his absence in the first few years of her life still bothers her, rocks him to his core.

He slides out of his seat and crouches in front of Katie’s chair. He takes her sticky hands in his own, not caring about the white syrup coating his hands and his pants. She’s looking at him with wide curious eyes, but he can see the tears threatening to burst, his heart aching once again, “Katie, you know Daddy loves you, right?”

His daughter nods her head timidly, almost afraid to admit it, her uncertainty vibrating within him and clenching his heart with a vice grip and Oliver can’t breathe. This is not the kind of father he wanted to be, he promised himself he’d never let is own children grow up with the uncertainty of his love, not like his father, and yet he’s repeating past mistakes and he didn’t even know it.

“Katie, I’ve loved you since the moment Mommy and I knew you were growing in her tummy.” Oliver says fiercely hoping he can convey his conviction to his 5 year old. He scoops her up and out of the seat standing with her in his arms, so their noses are practically touching. “I love you more than anything in this world, bug. I’m _always_ going to be your Daddy, no matter what.”

“But you liked your jobs more than me…” Katie begins, her little brow furrowing in confusion.

“Oh, no Katie its not that.” Oliver implores, making a promise to himself that he will never let his job dictate his life like its done for the past 5 years, “Daddy’s job takes him all over the place to play games. You remember the game you got to see me play, right? Sometimes, Daddy has to go all over the country to play those games against other people, but that doesn’t mean Daddy doesn’t love you. It’s like your Mama, she went away last week for her teacher thing, she came back right?”

“Yea…” There seems to be some clarity in Katie’s face and she looks across at Nyssa who nods in encouragement. Katie looks Oliver with curious eyes, “but you don’t live with us, and I don’t go to your house anymore, does Felicity not wanna see me, again?”

It’s been almost two weeks since Katie has seen Felicity, and Oliver is realizing the work excuse isn’t working. His daughter has noticed the shift in things, noticed that she has not been to neither his house nor Felicity’s in weeks, both places she’s stayed at regularly before.

“Honey, remember how we talked about Felicity being in a big play in New York City?” Sara chimes in, realizing Oliver is at a lost for words, their daughter can be very practical when she’s ready and she needs ‘evidence’ so to speak, to know that her concerns are for naught.

“Yea, you remember last year we went to see Elsa on stage?” Nyssa chimes in with encouragement.

Nyssa does not know why Felicity has been keeping her distance, but Oliver can tell already the other woman is beginning to put things together and taking Sara’s cue and just following along. It’s comforting to him to know that among the four of them Katie will _always_ be their first priority their issues and lack of communication be damn. He knows they’ll all do whatever it takes to ensure Katie is well and safe.

“That was Felicity!” Katie says excitedly. Oliver remembering all too well when they told Katie that and showed her pictures, in fact Katie and Nyssa took a picture with Felicity in her Elsa costume almost two years ago, but neither woman even realized till they found the picture a few months ago.

“Right, Felicity jobs sometimes takes her far away, to New York City and she’s very busy. It’s not that she doesn’t want to see you. She misses you a _lot_.” Oliver promises her. He closes his eyes and presses his forehead against Katie’s hoping his next words will not be another broken promise to his daughter, “When you get back on your vacation, you me and Felicity we’ll go on our own vacation, okay? Just the three of us. We can take Felicity to the Granddad Robert’s lake house. “

“You _promise_?” Katie asks with wide excited eyes, looking between her mothers for confirmation as well.

“We’ll look for a new swimsuit, so you can show to Felicity when you get back.” Nyssa offers, she looks between Oliver and Sara knowing there is more that she’s missing to the story, “We’ll leave it as a surprise.”

“Ollie, what’s wrong?” Sara asks with concern as Oliver’s face turns ash white. Both Sara and Nyssa turn to see what he’s looking at and they frown when they see Andy Diggle running up to them.

Nyssa looks from Sara and Oliver then to Andy disheveled and out of breath, she then turns to Katie, “Munchkin, lets go clean up all that syrup before we go on the plane.”

Sara thanks Nyssa as she waves at Maseo who has been sitting a few seats away watching the exchange with concerned eyes. He looks at Andy questioningly but the younger man just shakes his head and nods towards Nyssa and Katie, signaling that he keep an eye on them.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for the past two hours.” Oliver all but growls. “Where is Felicity?”

“I don’t know,” Andy says truthfully. “She told me about the note, asked me to take Dr. Snow to her boyfriend’s place and promised me that she was going to come straight to you. She was concerned that something would happen to her friend and she begged me to make sure Dr. Snow got home safely. The cab driver was to take her straight to the airport. I tracked her phone like you requested and it was on the route to the airport. I took Dr. Snow home and then the next time I checked in I couldn’t find her. I came here hoping she was with you. I’m sorry Mr. Queen, I never lost a client before.”

“You can’t lose someone who doesn’t want to be found.” Oliver mutters angrily, he just knows the glitch in Felicity’s phone was not random.

“I don’t think that’s the problem Mr. Queen.” Andy says somberly. He then pulls something out of his pocket and to Oliver’s horror its Felicity’s crushed iPhone. “I retraced her steps, the last place her phone was detected and I found this in the street a few feet away.”

The entire reason for Felicity deactivating her phone was so that she could still use it after. Felicity is very particular about her electronics, so much so Oliver knows that she has a tablet specifically for Katie to use, not only so its child friendly, but child proof as well so that it would never be destroyed. She claims that cracked electronics hurt her soul. Felicity would _never_ personally crush her phone like that.

 _Now_ he’s worried.

The PA system suddenly comes alive in the airport, announcing the departure of their flight. Sara grabs her handbag and luggage, along with Katie’s tossing the Little Mermaid bag over her shoulder, she then grasps Oliver by the shoulder and looks him in the eye, “Call my dad. Use the note and Felicity missing to your advantage. Tell them you can’t find her. You don’t know if this is all part of her plan, or not.”

“It’s not, she wouldn’t…her phone…she wouldn’t leave it… _that_ was our contingency plan. She can remotely activate her phone from anywhere, she did it so she could send me a signal in case…”

“Ollie… _Ollie!_ ” Sara’s voice pulls back and away from his thoughts. “Call my dad.”

Oliver nods, but then plasters on a smile when Katie comes running to him, he says his goodbyes hugging her more tightly than necessary then making Sara promise to call him the moment they are at Nyssa’s parent’s house.

 

* * *

 

“You know Queen, you’ve done some fucked up things over the years, but this… This takes the cake. I thought you’d manned up finally be a good father, then you go and put my granddaughter in danger…”

“ _Dad!_ ” Laurel growls placing a hand on her father’s shoulder, “now is not the time.”

“Not the time? Laurel, he put my granddaughter, your _niece_ in danger and you’re just going to ignore that to….”

“To find his girlfriend. His girlfriend who was only trying to _protect_ Katie. Yes, Ollie and Felicity were way in over their head and they should have done more than hire bodyguards to protect them, but we can’t focus on that now. You need to help them find Felicity. You’re thinking like a grandparent and not like the Captain. We know Katie is safe and out of harms way, Felicity made sure of that. I know you have your issues with Ollie, but think of Katie. You know Katie sees Felicity like a mother…”

“She has enough of those already.” Quentin says petulantly and Oliver growls in response. He knows that the older man is just bitter and angry with him, but helping Felicity should be his first priority at the moment.

“ _Dad!”_ Laurel snaps, her eyes nostrils flaring with anger, “Look, Felicity went missing in the 12 th jurisdiction, I can easily call Captain Gates to handle this and you can go off and sulk elsewhere. The 12th _knows_ it’s in their jurisdiction but they also know its family. Don’t give me that look, Dad. Ollie is family and you know it, even if Katie wasn’t around. You need to let this grudge go and actually do your job.”

With those final words Laurel spins around and looks at one of the officers in question who is sitting at a laptop in the middle of Felicity’s dinning room and gives them the okay to begin their searches. Oliver is unsure if Laurel has any authority as the A.D.A or if she’s just intimidating them, but he’s just grateful _someone_ is finally doing something. Since making the call the police have turned up at Felicity’s house hoping to get some leads on whom could have taken her. Oliver knows they aren’t going to be able to breach Felicity’s security system, but he’s not exactly forth coming with any information until Captain Lance gets his head out of his ass. There are police officers all over the house setting up computers looking into things examining the two previous notes Felicity had kept.

Oliver is clinging to his phone almost willing it to ring, hoping beyond hope that all of _this_ was part of Felicity’s plan; that she will send him their predetermined signal and he can breathe easily that everything is going according to plan. But Felicity’s crushed phone is currently being examined by one of the I.T. techs and with each growl of annoyance from the little dude dressed in all purple, Oliver is loosing all hope that this was part of Felicity’s plan and he’s beginning to wonder if he should break her trust and tell them about Cooper. After all if he gives them a name they can look up Felicity’s no good ex and have _something_ to go on, rather than the ghost of the stalker they are trying to find. He _knows_ they will turn up empty, because there is no trail to follow.

“Lance, may be a dick, but they’ll find her, Ollie.” Tommy voice is low as he speaks mindful of the officers surrounding them, but Oliver can’t mutter the smile of gratitude. Both men get along well enough, but Oliver knows Tommy is just trying to lighten the mood and give him hope.

“Oliver!” Oliver heart lurches at the familiar voice, he looks up and sure enough Felicity’s best friends are making their way towards both looking frantic, Caitlin more so than Barry.

“Oliver, what happened?” Caitlin asks, “Mr. Diggle refused to tell me anything when he dropped me by Ronnie and then a few hours later I get a call from Captain Lance asking to come home and answer some questions because you think Felicity has been _kidnapped_? What the hell is going on?”

“Dr. Snow were you with Ms. Smoak this afternoon?” Captain Lance interjects a small notepad in his hand.

Caitlin wide eyes swerve from Oliver to Captain Lance and back before she finally answers, “Yes we went shopping this afternoon. She got some note she’d said it was from Mr. Diggle but then she told me she had to see Katie and left I didn’t even have time to ask more. A few seconds later Mr. Diggle came into the store and told me he was escorting me home. I know Oliver hired Mr. Diggle just as a precaution for Felicity’s safety because he’s had some incidences with fans stalking him in the past? I’m not too sure I really haven’t been around much, it’s the reason why Felicity and I made plans today. What’s going on?”

“Ms. Smoak has been receiving a series of notes, alarming notes that she thought was a fan stalking her and instead of calling authorities she and Mr. Queen decided to play Nancy Drew and figure things out on their own. The last message being a picture of my granddaughter, Katie.” Captain Lance says bitterly, at Caitlin’s gasp and look of concern over at Oliver Captain Lance quickly continues, “Katie is with her mothers on a flight to Miami and out of harm’s way.I need you to tell me all that you can about this note Dr. Snow. Who brought it to Felicity? Did it come in an envelope? Anything, that can help us find her.”

Oliver zones out of the conversation, his eyes trailing on Barry who is now skirting the edges of the living room, his eyes trained on his phone. The younger man is practically twitching with nerves as he glances at his phone, then the surrounding area before he slips out into the balcony. Oliver rises to his feet and clamps Tommy on the shoulder to gain the other man’s attention, he towards Barry, whose silhouette they can see behind the curtain.

“Barry.” Oliver calls out cautiously, as to not scare the younger man.

Barry spins around his phone clutched between his fingers, his face place, “Tell me this is some elaborate plan of hers.”

“I wish I could.” Oliver says dejectedly, slipping in hands in his pockets. “We found her phone, crushed on the sidewalk, we both know she’d _never_ do that.”

“She told me the bodyguards were a precaution from _your_ fans.” Barry said bitterly, “She didn’t even tell me about the notes, _any_ of them.”

“She didn’t want to worry you,” Oliver says truthfully. “She thought she could handle it on her own. We both did.”

“At least she didn’t do it on her own,” Barry grumbles. He is still slightly output at the latest revelation, but Oliver knows from experience its just more frustration at the current situation than Felicity past mistakes. “But, what do we do now?”

Oliver pauses at the question, he looks at Barry in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Cooper.” Barry hisses softly, “We _know_ he’s behind this, do we tell them or just sit and pray that Felicity can get herself out of this situation? Cause I gotta tell you, I’m not much of a religious man.”

“Neither am I.” Oliver answers truthfully. He knows Barry is right, but they both know they are in way over their head and willing aiding a fugitive isn’t exactly ideal for them either, but Felicity’s safety would always come first for the both of them.

“I know she’s done some questionable things, but is her life really worth keeping her secret?” Barry asks Oliver.

Barry’s eyes scan the small group of officers in the living room nervously. Oliver knows that Barry has been living with this secret far longer than Oliver has been. He knows that Felicity has both trusted them with her secret, a secret that she had every intention to keep to herself. But do they break that trust all to keep her safe? Or do they throw it all away and tell the cops what’s truly going on, ramifications be damn if it means keeping her alive?

“I think we both rather her alive than dead. Even if that means breaking her trust and telling them her secret.”

“We can’t do that Barry.” Oliver hisses, looking through the tinted glass to the officers filling Felicity’s living room. “We do that and we’re practically giving her a death sentence.”

“They are hardly going to _kill_ her.” Barry says with a scoff, “But they will have more leads to go on. This dude of hers...”

“He’s not her _anything_ ,” Oliver growls angrily.

“Right. The asshole probably has so many charges on him already, charges that the cops probably couldn’t pin on him. We give them his name that’s _it_ for him. That’s a one-way ticket to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Felicity would want us to do that.”

“But what about _Felicity_?” Oliver counters not believing they are even having this discussion. Felicity’s life will always win over what some asshole deserves, “after all this settles what do you think they are going to do to her Barry? Or have you forgotten that her name is _Emily_? She stole someone’s identity. I’m pretty sure _prison_ would be in her future as well.”

Barry gulps at Oliver’s advances and they both pause to take a breath, both men walk away from each other, their phones clutched to their hands and they remain like that for a few moments before Barry walks back over to Oliver. Both men are very much aware that there are policemen crawling all over the place.

“Oliver, if we don’t do this we could very well be sentencing her to _death_ ,” Barry warns softly. “Which do you prefer a _dead_ Felicity or an _alive_ Emily?”

Barry’s words resonate with Oliver and Oliver _knows_ the young man makes a point, but the thing is Oliver does not _know_ Emily Walker. Oliver only knows Felicity Smoak and she is the one he would protect no matter the cost.

Is protecting her secret really worth the cost of her life?


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the kind comments I'm glad so many of you are still enjoying this story. As always thanks to my beta Denise who helped me with this story more than she probably realize. I would not have been able to get this far without you Denise

She stands in the shadows, her blonde hair tied in a bun and obscured by a Starling City Seahawks cap. Her grip tightens on the small device, her fingers flick the switch and she feels it come to life. Her heart is hammering in her chest; she can practically hear the blood rushing through her ears, the noise of the busy street behind the building fading in the distance. She takes a deep breath, centers herself and remembers why she is doing this in the first place. She watches as a large bulky man takes a seat on the benches about 30 feet away, just at the water’s edge, overlooking Starling City’s major lake.  She then turns her attention back to her main target, her heart skips a beat when she sees a familiar figure crouched in the shadows. It’s been almost 6 years since she has seen Cooper Sheldon but unlike when she was 17, the only shiver that runs through her body now is one of anger. Anger for all the things Cooper has done to her over the years. She’s angry at him for _threatening_ one of the most important people in her lives. Angry at the fact that she has not seen her mother over 8 years, that her mother spent the last 6 years thinking her daughter was _dead_ and it's all because of Cooper Sheldon.

Felicity takes a deep breath and channels her anger and she slowly makes her way over to Cooper. She powers on the small device in her hand and jabs him forcibly in the back, her fingers grabbing his right arm and twisting it behind him.

“Don’t move. _This_.” She jabs him forcibly with the taser to emphasize her point, “ can emit over 50,000 volts, well over the maximum of a normal taser, as you are well aware of. I’m pretty sure the big lump of muscle over there does not have enough brain cells to figure out what to do with you when he finds you dead in the alleyway.”

“It’s comforting to know that despite all these years, you are still that dorky girl that talked too much, Emily.” Cooper’s laugh is deep and filled with amusement.

“Don’t test me, Coop.” Felicity growls, jabbing him in the back with the taser, and pressing it to give him a small jolt, so he knows she is not playing around.

He doesn’t even tense at her threat, his body is loose against hers. He does not make any move to alert his bodyguard, nor does he even try to get out of her grip. His calm demeanor only angers her more; when he speaks again the slight hint of amusement in his tone only aggravates her more.

“So what’s the plan here, _Emily_?” he drawls out. He puts purposeful emphasis on her name, knowing she hates it already. She hates that after all these years he can still read her like this, still get under her skin without even trying. “We both know you don’t have it in you to kill me.”

“Don’t I? I’m not the same stupid girl that fell for you all those years ago, Cooper.” She ups the amps on the taser and smiles in satisfaction when Cooper jumps in surprise.

“A _kid_? That is what it took for you to grow a backbone? And not even your own kid, just that jock you’re fucking. I’ve been trying to smoke…do you like the pun… _fuck_ , woman that thing _burns_. Figures you would not just get a gun like a regular person, but juice up a taser.”

“Shut up, Cooper.” Felicity hisses. She kicks him in the back of the knees jabbing him yet again with the taser when he starts to talk, “ _Move_.”

“And where are we going?” Cooper asks in amusement planting his feet firmly on the ground and not moving. “You going to turn me into the cops? You do realize _Emily_ , between the two of us I’m the one _legally_ in the states _.”_

“Are you _really_ , Mr. Jacob Ford of West Virginia?” Felicity counters, smirking when Cooper gasps in surprise, unaware that she knew about his current alias.

“You _bitch_ , I should have known you’d find me on your own.” Cooper grumbles. He still has yet to even struggle in Felicity’s grasp, which has Felicity on high alert. “Doesn’t negate the fact that Felicity Smoak is _not_ a blonde Broadway baby from the Bronx.”

“You’ll have a hard time proving that.” Felicity counters smugly.

“Yea, but plant the seeds and homeland security will be watching your every move.” Cooper counters, “I’m sure that jock of yours will not be too fond of being under _that_ kind of microscope. I would even wager he’d keep the brat away from you even longer.”

“Shut up, Cooper.” Felicity growls hating the fact that not even 5 minutes of conversing and Cooper was able to hit her exactly where her insecurities lie. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A surging pain across her jaw has Felicity stumbling backwards, the taser slipping from her hand and clattering to the floor. The taste of blood fills her mouth, and her eye sting with tears as she staggers backwards. She sees Cooper coming towards her, but before she can react he has both her arms pulled behind her and her taser pressed to her throat.

“This was always your problem, Em. You let your guard down, trust people too easily and just miss what’s directly in front of you.” Cooper says his hot breath on Felicity’s ear making her skin crawl. “Now, I may not be as smart as you when it comes to computers, but I sure as hell know how to use a taser. You’re going to do exactly what I say or you’ll _wish_ the police were the ones dealing with you.”

“You can’t kill me,” Felicity says with much more confidence than she feels. “ _We_ both know that if you kill me you’ll never get the super virus you came all this way for in the first place.”

“I also know that you’d never come all this way to confront me without it.” Cooper sneers. “I don’t _need_ you for the virus. I can just kill you and take it from you. No one would ever know.”

“You could.” Felicity ventures, “But you’re not smart enough to activate it. If you were, you’d have had one of your men kill me the moment you realized I was alive. In fact, you wouldn’t have even come here if that were the case. After all, it’s not like those idiot lackies of yours need the brains to carry a USB drive.”

She hisses when Cooper grabs her by her ponytail and yanks her head back _hard_ , clearly annoyed at the truth in her words. She knows she’s just passing time, she knows he still has the upper hand, even if her life is not in detriment just yet.

“Shut up and let’s go.”

Cooper shoves her roughly towards the building on their right and that’s when she realizes large metal door have been pulled back all the way and standing in front of them is a large man with bulging biceps and a scar running from his chin to his collarbone. He sees Felicity approaching and sneers, but remains immobile otherwise.  

“Inside.” Cooper growls, the metal edges of the taser digging into Felicity’s skin.

The room is empty, the walls stripped bare, the wiring jutting out in various piece of drywall. The building has clearly seen better days, a rat skitters across the room and out of plain sight, and the entire places smells of rotten wood. In the centre of the room there is an old wooden table, the legs just barely holding it up. From the state of the building Felicity suspects Cooper brought in the table, there is a tablet and a laptop resting on the table, the screens moving, depicting a movie.

When Felicity finally sees the screens her heart stops and she stumbles towards the table. The image on the tablet is live action, showing Felicity’s childhood home, her mother is standing on the front step chatting idly with her next door neighbor.

“ _Mom.”_ Felicity sobs out collapsing against the table.

The old table protesting at the added weight, her fingers skim the smooth surface of the screen as she drinks her in. It’s been almost 7 years since she’s seen her mother. She never checked in on her, not wanting to leave any kind of trail back to her mother, in case Cooper ever found out. Seeing her mother only makes her anger boil, she did all of this to protect her mother and she will be damned if Cooper hurts her mother. She spins on her heels about to lash out, but falls short, the barrel of a gun now facing her head on.

“What did you do to my mother?” Felicity spits out.

“Oh no, you no longer call the shots here, Emily.” Cooper says, waving the gun at her forcing her back to the laptop. “Here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to give me the virus, use it on this laptop, show me that it works and once I get my money. Your mother and that brat and her father will be safe.”

At the mention of Katie and Oliver, Felicity’s heart lurches. Cooper gestures the gun towards the blank screen of the laptop. She presses the spacebar with trepidation and her heart plummets when the screen comes to life. The screen is split in two, on one side it’s a clear image of Katie walking between Nyssa and Sara, the child is chatting animatedly, her hands flying everywhere as she speaks. The image is blurry and shaky and Felicity knows immediately it’s a cellphone video. There is no volume, but Felicity just knows that Cooper already has someone in Miami following Katie and her mothers. She turns to the next image and she gasps when she sees Barry and Oliver arguing on her back porch.

“Now, you see I may not be as smart as you, but I do know how to operate a phone. One text to either of my men and the snipers I have set up will end all of their lives in a blink of an eye.  It’s really simple, Emily.”

“Don’t you fucking touch any of them!” Felicity growls, whipping her head around, “Your issue is with _me_ , not with them!”

“Someone has to pay for the closure of the Napa Valley company.” Cooper snarls, “Don’t think I didn’t know about your little ‘present’ after you disappeared. I thought your _death_ was enough punishment, but clearly it was not.”

“Why don’t you just kill me instead?” Felicity implores, tears coming to her eyes, “Why go after them, they did nothing wrong! I was the one that tipped off the FBI in California, you _know_ that Cooper.”

“Death is too good for you, you deserve to _suffer_ for all of my men that are currently rotting in prison because of you.”

“They deserve it, for ripping off innocent people!” Felicity spits back at him.

Cooper raises his hand in a fury and the back of the gun collides with Felicity’s jaw, she staggers back in pain, blood flowing freely from her mouth. Cooper watches smugly as she cradles her face in pain,  “Don’t test me, Emily.”

He points at the screen yet again, the gun still trained on her. She knows not to take the chance and reluctantly moves to the laptop, she pulls the USB drive from the pocket. She looks across at Cooper and he’s nudging the gun at her yet again. She slips the USB into the laptop and starts to type, her eyes straying to the gun ever so often.

“Don’t even _think_ of trying anything.” Cooper threatens.

She bites her tongue _hard_ to restrain herself from pointing out to Cooper that he  wouldn’t even _know_ if she was doing something wrong or not but instead focuses on trying to distract him. “What do you want me to do?  I know the computer is encrypted…”

She gasps when she feels the barrel of the gun pressing into the base of her neck and Cooper tugs at her ponytail roughly, “Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what I want.”

She bites her lips and focuses on the task at hand, deciding that pushing Cooper's buttons may not be the best course of action, but as always her mouth can’t seem to agree with her mind. "How did you find me anyway? I didn’t think American football, or _Broadway_ would be your idea of a good time.”

“It’s not.” Cooper grunts out, but as much as Cooper seems to know _her_ , Felicity knows him all too well. Cooper Sheldon can’t resist boasting about his accomplishments and like moths to a flame Cooper falls right for her trap.

“I was babysitting Siobhan’s daughter, Ciara.” Felicity pauses briefly at the mention of Cooper’s older sister. His family may be involved in illegal activities, but for a small window of time, Cooper’s family really was _her_ family and his sisters in particular, Felicity got along well with. “There was this documentary about that stupid snowman show and the way it was taking over the world, specifically on New York’s Broadway. Next thing I see is Felicity Smoak as Elsa, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but then coming back from a business trip from San Diego there was this entertainment magazine in the airport lobby. Seahawks’ quarterback found his _snow_ queen, by the way entertainment journalist in America need to go back to school. Anyway, next thing I see there is this Felicity Smoak again, but this time hanging onto some meathead. I had someone look you up just for peace of mind, but of course you cover your tracks. As more pictures of you surfaced, I needed to see for myself, those pictures could have been altered. I came to Starling City a few weeks ago and quietly watched from a distance…”

“Sending me flowers for two weeks straight and a note with lyrics is hardly ‘from a distance.'" Felicity scoffs from behind the computer. She gasps when she feels the butt of the gun press into her neck yet again, “You blow my head off and all of this would be for nothing.”

“Keep giving me talk and I’ll send a text to one of my men in Manchester and he’ll put a bullet straight through your mother’s pretty little head.”

His threat has her biting back a retort as she continues to upload the virus onto the computer. She takes in the device and frowns in thought, although it's been encrypted the laptop itself is mediocre at best and _not_ something she would expect from Cooper, especially given the live feed currently running on the tablet next to her.

“If you try anything, the police would only trace this back to the poor soul that I took it from.” Cooper calls out, almost as though he knows exactly what she’s thinking which does not sit well for her at all.

“Why do you even want the money? It’s been _five_ years I figured by now you had at least earned that buying and selling illegal ammunition all over the country. Hell, I’m surprised you didn’t just try and create your own super virus.” Felicity points out, but they both know that Cooper’s men just don’t have the skill set or the capability that Felicity does.

“The money is only the beginning, this virus of yours allows me to infiltrate _any_ system in the world, that’s banks, satellites, air forces, the works. I’d literally have the world at my fingertips all thanks to _you_.” The gleam in his voice practically grates on Felicity’s nerves her anger beginning to boil.

“That’s _not_ what this virus was suppose to be about.”  Felicity growls, all those years ago when she thought Cooper was _good_ and thought about the little guys. She thought they were going to do some _good_ in this world, but Cooper was just going against everything she ever wanted 

“Doesn’t matter, it’s mine now.” Cooper says almost gleefully. He nudges Felicity yet again with the gun, “Stop stalling, I know it's completed.”

“Did you learn how to read code in the last five years, Cooper?” Felicity sneers, turning her head ever so slightly to glare at Cooper. “If so then you’ll know it will be a few minutes.”

She takes note of Cooper’s body guard who is standing a few feet away, arms folded but as far as she can see completely unarmed. Cooper growls at her but the gun flutters just a second as he is momentarily distracted by a ringing phone. She wants to use his distraction to her advantage, but the image of her mother on the tablet nearby has her curbing her instincts.

The gun is pressed to her back yet again and she pauses her typing when he jabs her a few more times.

“It’s done.” Cooper says unnecessarily,

He tosses his phone onto the desk then moves to stand next to Felicity, his empty hand outstretched while the other has the gun trained on her, “Give me the virus.”

Felicity shifts her body away from the gun and looks Cooper in the eye, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she looks at the gun, “I can’t.” 

“What the fuck do you mean you can’t?” Cooper demands, “Emily, I have a gun to your face, now is not the time for you to be playing with me.”

“Cooper, the virus is not duplicated you _know_ that.” Felicity says tersely. She winces when he waves the gun towards her. “It was _always_ created like that. Once I put it on this computer that was it. You can only use _this_ computer, I thought that was why you had it encrypted even if you stole it from some college kid.”

Cooper growls but then slams the laptop shut making Felicity jump back in surprise.  The gun is still in his hand as he yanks the USB drive and slips it into the breast pocket of his shirt.  He glares at Felicity, “You tricked me.”

“I did everything you asked me to do.” Felicity lies, balling her fist as she glares at him, “I sent you the money, given the fact that they are no alerts from any of your men. Men, I _know_ you have watching the police for any strange activity, I think we can say I held up my end of this bargain. Now, call your people _off_ my family.”

Cooper glares at her as he backs away the gun still trained on her, “You don’t get to make the calls. I’m going to give you 12 hours, enough time for me to get the hell out of this country  and _then_ I’ll call my men off. Not a minute sooner.”

He looks at his bodyguard and nods his head, and then smirks at Felicity. The gleam in Cooper’s eyes makes Felicity’s blood crawl, “Daniel here is going to keep you company, Emily. I’m sure when he’s finished with you that jock boyfriend of yours wouldn’t want to touch you with a six foot pole.”

Felicity gags and spins around to face Daniel just as Cooper slips out of the door, the laptop and _gun_ still in his grasps. Cooper talks about her lack of observation, but he’s never been the brightest crayon in the box either.

“Daniel, was it?” Felicity quips.

She begins to put some distance between herself and Daniel, her eyes firmly trained on the larger man’s every move. She can practically hear her heart beating against her ribcage, “You know, you and my boyfriend are built the same way. You seem very similar.”

Daniel lecherous sneer makes Felicity’s skin crawl even if her declaration is far from the truth,

“Not _every_ part, sweetheart.”

Felicity holds back a gag as she side steps him yet again, the warehouse is _small_ and she knows sooner or later she’s going to find herself backed into a corner, both figuratively and literally. She skitters around the room, making her way back to the table. She takes a deep breath and grabs a hold of the front of her shirt, watching the watching the way Daniel’s eyes waver from her face to her chest. “I beg to differ, Daniel.  You see, all men are the same. Predictable really.”

“That’s enough, you’re talking too much,” Daniel growls advancing towards her.

Felicity waits until he’s almost at arm's length and yanks forcefully on her shirt. She rips it down the seam, her buttons flying everywhere. Daniel smirks at her, his eyes zeroing on her chest, she takes his moment of distraction to raise her leg and slam her foot forcefully into his crotch. Her pointed tip of her boots crushing into his flesh. Felicity watches as the 6 foot man double overs in pain and she then grabs the tablet on the table and brings it down forcibly onto the back of his head. He crumbles in an instant,, his hands still clutched between his legs as he falls to the ground in a heap.

Felicity wastes no time, she wipes down the now broken tablet with the edge of her shirt, cleaning it of all fingerprints and then grabs the tablet and slams it against the table one more time, ensuring that that it’s completely unfixable. She swipes Cooper’s phone that he left on the table and quickly sends a mass text out , calling off the men on her family. Once that’s complete she throws the phone on the floor and then crushes it with the heel of her boots. She swipes the fallen taser off the ground and slips it in the back pocket of her jeans.

“So much technological massacre today.” Felicity bemoans to the silent warehouse. She quickly makes her way out of the room all the while still thinking about all the devices that suffered at her hands in the last 12 hours. “I need to go and work in a Tech Village for a few _months_ to make up for my sins.”

Her heart beats rapidly in her chest, the sound of blood rushing through her ears echoes around her as she runs through the park. Trees surround her; she purposely moved off the trail and hoped to catch her breath to figure out her game plan. She collapses against a tree trunk her breathing labored. Her jaw aches in pain and she can almost feel it swelling to twice its size. Her head throbs in pain, not from being hit but she suspect it’s from the damage done to her jaw She places her finger tenderly to her lip and winces in pain as she comes in contact with blood. For the most part her cut as all but tried up but her pressing at it, investigating the cut seems to have aggravated it.

She looks at the red streaks across her fingers, and her torn shirt and then an idea hits her, she presses the blood against her collarbone and then along her torn shirt. She sees the small tear on one side and grips it tightly tearing the shirt right down her torso leaving the shirt gaping open. She tugs her glasses off her face and looks at the black frames with a sigh, she’s worn these for so long sometimes she forgets they are of no use to her. She drops the glasses to the floor and stands on it breaking the glass.

She takes a deep breath and makes her way towards the closest bike trail. The pounding in her head intensifies as she drags her feet along the gravel, ever so often her heels would stick into the soft ground and she tumbles forward before she catches herself.

At the first sign of life, a jogger on the pathway, she grabs her torn shirt, clutches her side to signify pain. When her heel catches on a small rock, her body vibrating in response the low moan she releases is _not_ for show at all.  The days events are catching up wit her and her body is protesting _loudly_. Cooper was not _gentle_ when he shoved the gun into her back and neck. She also has growing bruises along her arm from when Daniel tried to grab her. To put is simply she feels as bad as she looks.

“Oh My God. Are you okay?” The woman asks rushing to Felicity’s side already tugging her phone out of her armband. “Of course you’re not okay, you’re bleeding to death. Way to go captain obvious, Alex.”

Felicity can’t help but laugh at the sound of the woman berating herself, it’s comforting to Felicity to know she’s not the only one that talks to themselves. Felicity then moans in pain her laughter caused, “I’m not dying, but I need you to call Captain Lance of 13th precinct.”

“Shouldn’t I call or an ambulance? You need to see a doctor.” The woman asks slightly panicked as she punches in the 911 code and asks to be transferred to the 13th precinct as Felicity requested.

Alex ushers Felicity to a nearby rock helping Felicity prop up against it and overs Felicity a small water bottle from around her waist all the while speaking to Captain Lance and giving the police their location. Once she ends the phone call she slips the phone back in to her armband and then to Felicity’s surprise she unties her hoodie that’s wrapped around her waist and offers it to Felicity.

“That shirt is ruined, take it.” Alex says and she helps Felicity into the hoodie, “Does anywhere hurt besides the obvious?”

She asks the question very flippantly but Felicity can see the way her eyes roam Felicity’s body with concern, fixating on Felicity’s torn shirt.

“Oh no! I was robbed, the guy came out of no where and dragged me into the park. I didn’t want to give him my handbag, and he got rough, until I tased his ass and he ran for the hills. I’ve been wondering around this woods for the past hour trying to find the running trial,” she says it all in a rush and ensures her voice wavers so that she really is affected by the whole ordeal than she appears to be.

Alex’s look of sympathy only solidifies Felicity’s story, she surprises Felicity yet again when she tilts her head to the side and looks at Felicity curiously, “wait I know you. You’re that singer, the one that’s dating Oliver Queen.”

“Guilty.” Felicity grimaces raising her hand, but she groans when her jaw begins to protest at her movements.

“That’s probably going to leave mark.” Alex says with a wince she offers up her arm to Felicity despite the fact that Felicity can walk, “Let’s go to the benches that’s where I told them we’d be.”

“Thank you so very much, Alex,” Felicity says sincerely.

She allows the woman to usher her down the short trail to the open area of the park. It’s not until she collapses on a park bench does she breathe a deep sigh of relief, not just to rest her slightly battered body, but for the first time in years she finally feels like she can breathe again, or at least she hopes so.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go and then a short epilogue! I can't believe that after 9 months this story is almost over! thank you all for sticking around for the ride :)

He skips into the precinct Laurel and Barry hot on his heels, his eyes scan the small area rapidly until he sees the large mass of blonde hair peaking out from one of those custom made SCPD jackets. He looks up to see Captain Lance in his offers and the older man waves them in. Oliver moves frantically into the room, the door slamming against the wall in his haste.

“Felicity!” He calls out collapsing in front of her chair. His eyes roam over her body taking in every inch of her when he sees her with an ice pack to her jaw, he all but growls in anger.

“I’m okay.” Felicity whispers softly, her voice firm. She places the ice pack on the table and then cards her fingers through his hair and looks him in the eye, “It’s okay. I promise.”

He pauses briefly at her change in pronoun, she nods her head and then tries to smile, but only winces in pain and touches her lip gingerly, “I’m a little worse for wear.”

“Ms. Smoak wanted to wait for you before she gave her statement.” Captain Lance grunts out, clearly not too fond of Felicity’s choice, “she said she wanted to only tell the story once.”

“Why isn’t she at a hospital?” Laurel chimes in looking at Felicity critically and taking in the SCPD jacket.

Oliver tenses at the implication, he swivels around to look at Felicity but Felicity only shakes her head in the negative, “I told your father _and_ the EMTs that I don’t need to go to the hospital. Knuckles to the face is hardly warrant for the hospital.”

“It looks worse than that Ms. Smoak.” Captain Lance says sternly a frown etched across the older man’s face and Oliver just knows this is not the first time they are having this discussion.

“No worse than a dancer kicking you in the face with a spiked heel.” Felicity says deadpan, “I have the tooth to prove it.”

Oliver blanches at that, he knows for a fact that’s not true, but he stays silent and looks across at Captain Lance, “I’d really like to take my girlfriend home, Captain.”

Captain Lance grunts at Oliver’s request but pulls out his notepad nonetheless and looks at Felicity expectantly.  Oliver gets to his feet never releasing her hand. He squeezes it encouragingly as Felicity takes a deep breath. He’s as interested this story as much as Lance.

“I was on my way to the airport.” Felicity starts her voice soft as she speaks.

Oliver watches as she raises her fisted hand and uncurls it to show the tattered picture of Katie in her hand. He can see the photo has been torn, a jagged line straight across the bottom only showing part of his daughter. His blood begins to boil when he thinks of that psycho even having a picture of his daughter, looking at his daughter.

“I wanted to say goodbye. We weren’t really sure how this whole thing would turn out and…and I just wanted to see her…”

“Katie.” Laurel says with a soft gasp. Oliver had forgotten the other woman was there, offering her services as a lawyer when he got the call.

“The two of you should have come to me the moment this stalker started contacting you. You should have never left Katie’s safety in your own hands,” Captain Lance all but snaps at her and Oliver.

“This was the first time we even knew she was on his radar.” Felicity protests her fingers clenching around the picture again

Lance holds out his hand for the picture, he holds it at the corner and once he looks at the candid of Katie his features soften slightly. He then turns his focus back at Felicity, his voice hard, “how about you tell me the story from the beginning. Mr. Queen and Mr. Allen told me their version, but I want to hear yours.”

“Dad.” Laurel calls out warningly, but to their surprise Felicity sits up and waves her off.

“It’s okay, Laurel. I need to start from the beginning anyway.” Felicity says calmly, too calmly as far as Oliver’s concerned.

He shifts nervously on his feet, unsure of what story she’s actually going to tell, after all he was the one that _insisted_ that he and Barry only stick to the stalker angle and _not_ tell the police everything like Barry wanted. But as Felicity begins to talk about the dozen flowers she received he slowly relaxes and watches as Lance juts down a few notes.

“I knew that Katie was with Oliver.” Felicity says as she gets to the days current events, “I knew she was safe. I knew I should have gone straight to the airport, but the driver took an alternate route to avoid traffic and there was this toy store, a little hole in the wall behind the park and the reindeer was just sitting there. I had to get it… I know it sounds ridiculous.”

“You found _Sven_?” Laurel and Oliver call out incredulously.

“What?” Lance repeats and then shakes his head in disbelief, “is that the stupid reindeer Katie practically had me file a missing person… _animal_ report for?”

“Dad, you were the one that helped her make those missing reindeer flyers,” Laurel says with a pointed look.

Oliver shakes his head, two weeks ago before all this mess Katie lost her favourite stuffed animal Sven. When all the adults tried to replace it, his four year old was having none of that, insisting it wasn’t _her_ Sven. Turns out Sara picked up the knock off on some city she was in and thus Sven’s outfit was slightly altered and Katie only wanted _that_ Sven.

“What happened after you got the reindeer?” Lance asks bringing the conversation back to the issue at hand.

Felicity rubs the side of her face, but then winces in pain when she remembers her injury, “I was coming out of the alley way entrance and some guy grabbed me from behind. I tried to get away but that’s when he dragged me into the park. I told him to just take my phone and wallet but he kept telling me not to scream. He started going on about my shows that he’d seen me in all of my plays and I’d be a shoe in for Velma in Chicago. My audition for Chicago is not public knowledge, in fact my casting call is at the end of the week.”

“So this was the guy then, the one who was threatening you?” Lance asks eagerly as he begins to scribble some notes down. “Had you ever seen him before, do you know a name?”

“He never said his name. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before, but then again I meet so many people in this business it’s hard to keep track. He just kept telling me we could be happy together.” Felicity shudders slightly almost as if she’s recalling exactly what the man said to her.

Oliver watches on in silence knowing that there _is_ no man to speak of, but from the way she tells it he’s almost convinced that she _did_ have some fan stalking her.

“I told him that he was wrong. That it couldn’t work out, when he got angry I started to scream. That’s when he slapped me told me to shut up. Naturally, I didn’t listen and that’s how I got _this_ little gem. Well after _that_ I got pissed so I kicked him in the crotch. Which I have to say he was _not_ pleased with that.”

“Judging from your tone, I suspect you took care of that as well?” Lance asks dryly and Oliver just _knows_ that the older man is _not_ buying Felicity’s story for a second, especially with the quick turn of events.

“Not before he punched me, before he just slapped me, this time I felt my whole head rattle. I think he was still in too much pain, these boots have a steel tip.”

Both Oliver and Lance wince involuntarily at words, “then what happened?”

“He grabbed my handbag and ran…well hobbled off really… after calling me a few choice words of course. That punch literally knocked me off my feet and I fell to the ground and I sat there till I got my bearings back, then I started looking for someone, _anyone_ to help me. I found Alex a few minutes later.”

“I don’t understand why he would rob you, though.” Lance says with a frown, “He was clearly the man stalking you. He took his time and effort to send you flowers _daily_ for two weeks and then the notes. Then when he finally confronts you and just run away with your handbag? Unless, was there something in there worth stealing? And why send you _just_ a picture of Katie?”

Oliver can see the wheels turning in the older man’s head; he doesn’t dare look at Felicity, not wanting to give anything away. He looks across at Laurel and he can see she has the same exact expression. In any other circumstance Oliver would have laughed at the uncanny resemblance, even more so when he sees they are both squinting with just their left eye, something both Sara _and_ Katie do as well.

“I don’t know.” Felicity answers truthfully. “Honestly, he sent those flowers when Oliver and I were on a temporary break, maybe he just thought he had a chance, and if he sent me a picture of Katie I’d step away?”

“But, you and Ollie’s break up was never public knowledge though,” Laurel points out.

“I may have mentioned it to someone at the theatre.” Felicity offers without skipping a beat, surprising Oliver yet again. “I cancelled my extra tickets opening night and Anthony, one of the guards asked. I mentioned that Oliver and I weren’t speaking. The stalker guy could have been there. He said he’d been to every single one of my shows.”

“He could have been working for the theatre as well.” Laurel suggests to her father and Captain Lance nods in agreement quickly jotting down a few more details.

“I don’t think I have to tell you how lucky you got, Ms. Smoak,” he says seriously, “most of these stalker situations don’t end as well as this one did. Especially, when there are threats involved, usually when a stalker threatens their prey they have very little remorse.”

Felicity nods her head in understanding and Oliver raises their clasps hands to press a kiss to her knuckle in reassurance. He can feel the way she leans towards his body and he knows the day’s events are slowly catching up with her and Lance sympathetic look shows that he realizes she’s beginning to fade as well.

“Do you know what time this happened?”

Felicity shakes her head holding up her bare left arm, “I’ve never liked watches, which is strange given all the new smart watches that are out now. You’d think I’d be interested in it, but as much as I love my tech I just don’t want yet another device to charge, you know what I mean? My phone is good enough, speaking of did you find my phone? I had it in my hand when I came out of the store, but I think I dropped it in the scuffle before he pulled me off the street and into the park.”

“Mr. Diggle found it, but…” Oliver trails off knowing how particularly sentimental Felicity is about her tech.

“ _No_.” Felicity says with a gasp of horror, “Martha?”

Oliver shakes his head in the negative again, when Lance pipes up, “Who the hell is Martha?”

“My phone.”

“Her phone.” 

She and Oliver answer simultaneously and they share a small grin in amusement. Lance takes one look at Felicity’s crestfallen expression and then shakes his head. Oliver knows immediately the older man resided himself on just not asking about Martha.

“Ms. Smoak, we’ll like you to sit with one of our artist, to help us I.D this guy and hopefully we will be able to find him before he decides to have a change a heart and come back for you.”

“Or go after Katie.”

Laurel voices what they are all thinking, or at least what both Lance are thinking. Oliver has a strong suspicion that his daughter is no longer in any danger and he’s beginning to wonder what exactly Felicity has been up to the past few hours. He just knows he wont get any answers until they are back home and away from the prying eyes and ears of the SCPD.

“ _EMILY!_ YOU BITCH YOU SET ME UP!”

Oliver feels Felicity’s entire body tense briefly, but she relaxes almost immediately. She turns her head to the chaos outside, her eyes wide. Oliver looks out as well and there is a man struggling in the arms of two police offers, while a third one carries a black laptop. The man is struggling against the police officers clearly trying to get towards them. The glass wall to Captain Lance’s office gives little to no privacy.

“That’s her! That’s Emily, this bitch set me up.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Lance all but growls as he steps out of his office. He takes one look at the scene and walks towards them. “Cooper Sheldon, as I live and breathe. What are you doing on this side of the pond? Trying to sell illegal firearms again? Or is it a bank heist again? Garda and Scotland Yard have been looking to pin you down for _years_. What brings you to Starling City?”

“He tried to steal 5 million from Starling National _directly_ to his account.” One of the officers commented dryly.

“That bitch set me up!” Cooper growls struggling yet again, “ _She_ is the one that wrote the fucking virus. _She_ accessed the bank’s mainframes not me.”

“Watch your language!” The second offer growls thumping Cooper between the shoulder blades.

“Who is he trying to place the blame on?” Lance ask incredulously, he and the other officers turn to see his office, more specifically _Felicity_ , who is currently leaning against Oliver looking at the entire exchange with wide eyes.

Oliver can feel the way her fingers clench around his waist, but other than that she gives no outward inclination of knowing who Cooper is. Her face is filled of confusion, as she looks on more curious than anything. Her body is tense besides him but she gives absolutely no hint that she even _knows_ who Cooper is and once again Oliver is reminded that _everything_ is going according to her plans even if he is not in the loop for almost all of it. He’s beginning to suspect that _that_ was part of her plan as well.

“Emily Walker! That’s her she’s the one that created the virus.” Cooper insists. He looks at Felicity his eyes narrowing almost to slits as he growls angrily, “If I’m going down, you’re going down with me, _bitch_.”

“I have no clue who this is.” Felicity confesses her voice trembling as she takes a visible step towards Oliver at Cooper’s loud protest.

“You fucking liar!”

“Tech checked the laptop, it was stolen from some college kid a few days ago, but the entire thing only has Sheldon’s digital finger prints, there is nothing on it that even ties the laptop back to the owner. We suspect Sheldon hired someone to encrypt it. Gallagher’s Wines and Spirits entire database is remotely accessed on it. All of their inventory both the legal and _illegal_ kind, we only knew the laptop was stolen because of the model number. There is no trace of this virus he keeps talking about.”

Lance frowns at the officer’s words and looks from a confused Felicity and back to the murderous Cooper, “Who is this Emily Walker he’s talking about? And what virus?”

“Dead girlfriend.” The officer says softly full of sympathy, he looks at Felicity and then back at Cooper, “she’s been dead for 5 years now. He claims this USB drive has the virus, but tech checked it and that was just the GPS that lead us to him.”

Oliver watches as Cooper’s jaw drops in realization that Felicity _clearly_ set him up. Cooper lunges for Felicity full of rage, “You fucking bitch!”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of you accusing innocent victims who are already going through a hard time. This woman has been through hell tonight and I refuse to let you rope some innocent bystander into you delusions. You are disrupting my precinct. You have been guilty of these crimes for _years_ Mr. Sheldon, only now you finally made a misstep, maybe you trusted the wrong person, but Garda and the FBI will be glad to know that they finally have evidence to convict you and close down your _entire_ ‘business’ operation. Take him away.”

Oliver never hears Cooper’s threats as the officer’s shove him into the elevator. The dead weight that seems to be sitting on his heart for weeks now seems to be slowly lifting, and Oliver is almost afraid to believe that its too good to be true. He looks at Lance incredulously, “What the hell was that?”

“Desperation is a sad thing, Queen.” Lance answers solemnly, “it makes grown men try to blame the dead for their terribly choices. I’m sorry about that Ms. Smoak.”

“It’s okay, I can only imagine the kind of crazy you see in here every night,” Felicity says just as she stifles a yawn, “can I meet with the sketch artist now? I would really like to just head home.”

“Of course,” Lance says quickly. He makes a quick call to bring in the artist, when he hangs up the phone Oliver can’t help but voice his concerns about Cooper.

“What happens to the crazy man that just got taken away?” Oliver asks curiously, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

Felicity sits up slightly at the question but does not tear her gaze away from the small bruises along her forearm, but Oliver knows she is currently on high alert, listening closely.

“The Gallagher case has been ongoing for _years_ ,” Laurel pipes in looking slightly shocked. “Five years ago there was an anonymous tip that got the FBI to close down the U.S based wineries but they could never get definitive evidence that tied it back to the head office. If what that officer was saying was true, if that laptop really has an open access to _all_ their inventory Cooper Sheldon and his family are never going to step foot on a winery _ever_ again. I have no clue why he would be in Starling City of all places and blaming his ex-gir…”

“ _Funnel cake_ ,” Felicity blurts out, when both Lance look at her in confusions, Felicity takes a deep sigh full of bliss, “I’ve lived in New York City for three years, but Starling City’s funnel cake is just out of this word. I moved here _just_ for the endless supply of funnel cake.”

“You moved here for the small theatre district,” Oliver teases adding to her little ramble on funnel cake. He presses a kiss to forehead, “I think the medication the EMTs gave her are finally setting in if she’s starting to ramble about food.”

Laurel chuckles lightly at Oliver’s words, “Actually, dad I think it might be best for Felicity to meet with the sketch artist tomorrow, when she’s a little bit more lucid.”

Captain Lance looks at Felicity who is practically leaning onto Oliver now her eyes fluttering close and Oliver knows _this_ is not an act she can see her slowly beginning to fade right before his eyes. “Okay, I’ll send one of my guys to your house tomorrow. Take care, Ms. Smoak. I really hope we can find this guy and all this mess will be over.”

There is a soft knock on the office door that gains all of their attention; another officer stands at the entrance looking at the captain eagerly.

“Captain Lance, we have the man that took Ms. Smoak. We found the guy sleeping off something a few blocks away on a bench with Ms. Smoak’s handbag and he matches her initial description of the mugger including the barcode tattoo behind his ear. It’s Jesse Abbot, sir.”

“Of course it is,” Lance mutters in exasperation, “The boy who cry wolf strikes again.”

“ _What_?” Oliver asks startled, with Cooper now in custody Oliver never expected _this_ turn of events. Felicity doesn’t seem surprised, just relieved that the guy has been found, sending up more warning signals to Oliver.

“Abbot is one of our frequent flyers,” Lance explains. “He’s usually involved in petty theft or _stalking_. He’s compulsive liar and a drunk, but most of the time he’s harmless.”

“He _attacked_ my girlfriend!” Oliver growls gesturing to Felicity’s face, he then picks up the tattered picture of Katie and tosses it at Lance, “He _threatened_ my daughter, _your_ granddaughter!”

“Yes, and both of these offenses means we can _finally_ put him behind bars. Don’t worry Queen, he’ll pay for his sins.”

“He claims to not know who the child is.” The officer pipes up, looking he believes not a word of it, “we found the other part of the picture in his pocket. He insists he doesn’t know where it came from. He’s also drunk off of his ass.”

“Of course he is. That’s always the story with this guy, the boy who cried wolf. Tell them to take him to holding and we’ll let him sober up over night before we start the process.” Captain Lance then turns to look at Felicity and Oliver with sympathy, “Ms. Smoak why don’t you go on home and you can come tomorrow to I.D him. Mr. Abbot is not going anywhere any time soon.”

“Thank you, Captain Lance,” Felicity implores shaking his hand gratefully, “I just want this nightmare to be over.”

“It’s over, Ms. Smoak. This guy is finally behind bars and he can’t hurt you or anyone you love again.”

“It’s _finally_ over.”

Felicity whispers softly against Oliver’s neck and Oliver knows she is not referring to Jimmy Abbot in the slightest. Her arms wrapped around him and he can feel the moment her entire body collapses against his. He can tell the moment that the weight she’s been carrying on her shoulders has been lifted. Her soft sob of relief shatters her last bit of resolve like the tight rope that Cooper has had on her has finally been severed and she is free.

He presses a soft kiss to the crown of her had and tightens his arms around her. He has so many questions for her, but he knows they have all the time in the world for that.

“C’mon. Let’s go home.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it.
> 
> This is the final chapter. This is the first fic I've ever been able to cross the 100k mark as well as my very first multichapter Olicity fic. This fic means the world to me and I can't thank you all enough for sticking along for the ride. All the comments, kudos and likes and reblogs on tumblr mean the world to me. Thank you all for enjoying this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> A special thanks to Denise, my beta, if it weren't for her I would have never finished this fic. There were so many times I wanted to throw in the towel and she helped kept me motivated and figure out some of the most difficult part of this story. Words cannot express how much I valued your input and thoughts on this fic Denise. thank you for everything.
> 
> There is a short epilogue that follows this chapter I hope to have it up by tomorrow or Monday for the latest.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this story, your words mean a lot to me :)

“I know…I promise…everything is taken care of…” Felicity voices trembles as she speaks. She’s been on the phone with Barry since she and Oliver left the precinct. The fear in Barry’s voice is evident and Felicity hates that she is reason for Barry’s current state. “Barry, he can’t hurt me anymore. I promise you, I’m okay…I’ll see you tomorrow…I love you too.”

“Hey, everything okay?” Oliver asks with concern, it’s a loaded question more than anything. He can see the way her hand shakes as she tosses Oliver’s phone onto her bed.

She rubs her face tiredly, but winces when she presses her palm against her jaw, momentarily forgetting her injury, “I need to get a new phone and cancel my credit cards…I know they returned them with my handbag, but I don’t want to take that chance…I guess I didn’t think of everything when I went looking for that Abbot fella.”

“Hey. Hey. Hey.” Oliver calls out soothingly. He takes a step in front of her and grasps her biceps lightly, “Felicity, we’ll sort that all out tomorrow. You aren’t going anywhere, tonight.”

“I’m so _tired_ , Oliver.” Felicity confesses. She collapses against his chest, her arms wrapping around his torso and she just allows her body to mold against hers, “I’m so tired.”

“I know, baby.” Oliver rubs smaller circles soothing her. “C’mon.”

He takes her by the hand and guides her towards the bathroom, despite the fact that all Felicity wants to do is collapse onto her bed. She grunts in protest, but allows him to tug her along, nonetheless. He gently moves her to sit on the closed toilet and then she watches silently as he patters around her bathroom with ease and familiarity of someone who has lived there for years.

She doesn’t think anyone has ever been this comfortable around her most intimate things.

She leans against the wall her body curling into the cold tiles; she is exhausted. Oliver turns on the faucet to her large 6 foot clawfoot tub, at the time of her purchase it was a guilty pleasure, she never thought it would benefit when she ended up with a boyfriend over 6 feet tall. The steam begins to build in the small room, water splashing loudly at the bottom of the tub. He moves to one of her baskets at her corner shelf and begins sniffing her large collection of bath bombs. He finds a mint, green, star shape bomb and then deposits it into the partially full tub.

He moves back to her and tugs her gently to her feet. Silently, he rids her of her his old hoodie, the scrapping of the zipper drowned out by the sounds of the water gushing around them. He helps her out of the remaining of her clothes peppering soft kisses along her bare shoulder. He eases her into the tub and the warmth of the bubbles and mint over take her senses, soothing her sore muscles. She’s tears her gaze away from the water about to ask him if he’d join her, only to see him already stepping out of his boxers.

It’s not until he slips in behind her, splashing water over the rim of the tub and she sits back against his broad chest does she breathe out in relief.

He presses a kiss to her wet shoulder, his arms tightening around her waist and she can feel the way the tension leaves his own body. He needs this as much as she does, “we can talk about it, or we can just sit here. It’s up to you.”

She raises their clasps hands and kisses the water off his knuckles. His larger fingers dwarf her tiny hand and she can see the scrapes on her knuckles, she doesn’t even remember when she got those.

“Abbot…Abbot was on the SCPD list of most frequent offenders. I hacked into their database and looked for someone who always got off on technicality, or just toed the edge of spending more that 6 months in jail. I cross reference a lot of things like previous stalking violations, drinking, and petty theft. His name showed up first and I…I found him, planted all my things when I saw him. He was already high as a kite; it worked to my advantage. I got an innocent man sent to jail.”

“He was hardly _innocent_ ,” Oliver protests, his fingers tightening around her own, “you were doing what you needed to do to protect yourself.”

“Doesn’t make it right,” Felicity murmurs in defeat.

“No. No it doesn’t.” Oliver agrees and Felicity tenses in his arms, but Oliver doesn’t release his hold on her, “but if I had to choose between you or him rotting in jail, I choose you. That probably makes me a bad person, but I don’t care. Felicity Smoak is who you are and who you will always be.”

“I love you,” Felicity whispers almost as though it’s a confession.

She turns in his arms and kisses him softly on the lips, only wincing slightly at the pressure it puts on her busted lip. She feels lucky that she even got to say this again, she is all too aware of how wrongly the night could have gone. She could have been taken away in handcuffs along with Cooper or worse. Her body shudders at the thought, the tension once again rising in her.

“I love you too,” Oliver returns the sentiment his own voice full of emotion.

She curls into his lap, her face pressed against his wet chest, the sound of his heartbeat soothing her, thrumming through her own body almost as though he’s an extension of her. His hands ghost along her thighs cupping her kneecap. His hands slide between her legs massaging the soft flesh of her inner thigh.

“Oliver, you don’t have to…”

Oliver kisses the top of her shoulder, his tongue trailing up the curve of her neck. His hot breath tickles her ear as he speaks, “let me take care of you, let me help you.”

His voice is soft and soothing as he gently parts her legs, hooking each one over his old leg, she can feel him already begin to harden behind her, pressing into the base of her spine. She rocks her hips gently back into him, but Oliver tightens his grip on her legs, stopping her.

“This is about you, just close your eyes and relax,” he whispers and trails a series of wet kiss along her collarbone.

He takes the bar of soap and slowly caresses her stomach, inching it up her wet stomach, making sure to wash her skin thoroughly. With each pass of the soap bubbles, he leaves her skin tingling with anticipation. She gasps softly, her body automatically arching into him, so in tuned to his familiar ministrations, but feeling disappointed when she’s only met with soft suds formed from her soap. He flickers his thumb over her harden nipple, pinching it lightly earning deep moan in response, but then goes back to washing her stomach and back.

She can feel the familiar coiling deep in her belly, as his hand molds her soft flesh. The tension is already building and he has barely even _touched_ her. Her eyes slide shut, her head falling with a small thud against Oliver’s chest the moment his hand slides up her leg and his fingers touch her folds. He moves the soap across her thighs, but he gets distracted by his own ministrations as well as the soft noises she is makes and the soap slips from his hand and he puts his sole focus on her body.

She can feel the warm water sloshing around them, the movements heightening her pleasure.

She tries to raise her hips to press against his fingertips, but Oliver’s arm is locked across her torso keeping her in place. He parts his legs a little further, which only turns to widen her own legs and she growls deeply when his fingertips just barely touch her heated skin. She is feeling the warm water fully now, Oliver’s gentle motions sending soft waves against her parted lips. The beating waves almost in tune with her beating heart and she clenches in anticipation, moaning pitifully when Oliver does not increase the pressure like she wants.

“ _Oliver.”_

She wines out pathetically, the small confines of the tub preventing her from parting her legs further or even bending her knees so she can move closer to him. The moment she stops fighting him though Oliver slips a finger easily between her wet folds and she gasps out in surprise her upper body arching in return. She groans at the feel of his finger sliding along her folders a second slipping in just as easily, she clenches around them, her hips rocking in time with the small lazy rhythm he’s set up.

“Oliver, more _please_ ,” she practically begs him.

Her hand moves to grip his forearm, her hips rising as the water splashes. She can feel the tension building with in her, her release just barely in her grasp before Oliver yanks it away along with his fingers.

She wines out pitifully her fingers digging into his forearm, but his thumb is already working on her clit, making small circles against the hardening nub. She throws her head back against his chest, her mouth slight parted as she pants his name in eager successions. He knows how sensitive she is there and he slip three fingers between her swollen lips her entire body jerking at the sudden intrusion and her hips begin to rock against his hand, her muscles clenching around his fingers with each thrust.

“Come for me baby.” He whispers softly as he picks up his pace knowing already that her frantic almost erratic thrusts means she is close.

Her body begins to quake in eager anticipation, her nipples hardening, the water splashing against her heated skin only adding to the sensations that are consuming her body and with one final thrust of his fingers Felicity cries out and her entire body uncoils as she collapses against Oliver.

She feels Oliver’s arms wrap around her torso pulling her firmly against him, his nose buried in her hair. “I can’t lose you, Felicity.”

His soft confession shattering any last bit of resolve she might have left for the night. She slips out of his grasp, ignoring his soft protests so that she can turn around to face him fully. She’s kneeling between his parted legs now and she gasps his cheeks between her hands.

“You are _not_ going to lose me.” She says it with as much conviction she can muster, “I’m not going _anywhere_.”

When he looks at her with red eyes, _broken_ because of her, she has renewed vigor to convince him. She needs to convince them both that she’s not going anywhere. She inches closer to him and can feel his partial erection pressing against her legs. She grabs him, watching the way Oliver’s body tenses in surprise, but his eyes dilate in response. She pumps him once, then twice, feels the way he swells in her hands and she knows his body response almost as eagerly as her own does to his. Before he can question her she glides him between her legs and slides down with one easy thrust.

Her knees are pressed up against the back of the tub, her breast grazing against his, their bodies are entwined as close as they can get.

She loops her arms around his neck and presses her forehead against his, their breaths mingling together as she speaks, “ _This_. This is us Oliver, we’re connected in every way that counts. I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”

She rocks against slowly against him, gasping at the way he continues to swell within her. He places his hands on her waist and his fingers dig into her flesh as he slowly begins to meet her thrust.

They move slow and lazy, their hips moving to that all to familiar dance, neither of them quite ready to speed things along.

“You’re it for me, Oliver.” Felicity confesses, her eyes never leaving his. Her mouth parts ever so slightly and she gasps at the small thrusts he gives her in return, “I’m done running from myself.”

She clenches around him, both of them gasping out in surprise. The raw pain in his eyes tells her that she hurt him more than she anticipated by going through with her plan. She never realized Oliver had a true fear of her just walking away, until now. She needs to reassure him, show him that his fear of her leaving him will never happen.

Oliver thrusts into her more deeply, more forcefully, his fingers dig into her side as he clings to her. She can see the desperation in his eyes, his forceful trust conveying so much more than words could.

“I’m sorry with held the truth from you.” She confesses against his ear. Her chin digs into his collarbone and she gasps at the quick progression of his thrusts.

Hard and firm and she knows she’s hit the root of his problem. They said they were in this together, from the moment she told him her secret. She promised him she would keep him in the loop and she broke that promise.

“I’m not sorry I did what I did, because I needed to keep you safe, but I’m sorry about what you went through.” She places a hand on his chest, halting their movements almost immediately. “ I couldn’t let you take the fall for me incase this did not work out. I needed you to be oblivious as everyone else. I love you too much to do that to you.”

Oliver growls angrily in return, he grips her waist and hoists her off of him, but before she can protest he’s slamming her back down onto his cock, “Stop trying to protect me…. _fuck…_ Let me protect _you_ , Felicity.”

He growls out her name harshly, but his movements say otherwise and Felicity’s entire body shudders at his tone. She moves against him with quick thrusts and she can only release soft pants in response. Her hips roll against his, her fingers digging into his flesh. Oliver suddenly grips her hips and stops both their movements and she whines out a deep moan of protests.

She looks at him, head tilted back pushing her breasts up against him so that their nipples brush against each other sending a jolt of pleasure straight to her core, but he refuses to let her move, “ _Oliver_.”

“Promise me.” He growls, but she can see the pleading in his eyes, “Promise me, you wont do something like that again. If we’re in this together…. _oh_ …we are _all_ in.”

She nods her head frantically as she begins to squirm over him, “Yes!”

Oliver begins to move his hips thrusting up to meet hers in rapid, irregular movements and Felicity just throws her head back as she rides him. They both move in unison finding their release almost simultaneously as they collapse against each other in both physical and emotional exhaustion.  The now lukewarm water splashes around them, hitting their heated skin, the wall behind them, and Felicity is sure if she could form a coherent thought she would care more about the soaked bathroom floor.

“I love you, Felicity Smoak.” Oliver whispers hoarsely.

He eases her off of him, and coaxes her to move so that her legs are now hooked over his arm and with her safely in his arms he rises to his feet. He grabs one of the towels wrapping it around her.

“I still have to tell you about what happened.” She murmurs sleepily against his chest her legs wrapped around his waist loosely.

“Later.” Oliver promises.

He presses a kiss to her forehead and she barely feels the soft plush material of her pillow before she is drifting off into slumber land.

* * *

 

She sits in the center of her bed, legs folded with her robe slightly parted. She has one hand in her lap while the other presses an icepack to her swollen jaw as she watches the rainbow of emotions run across Oliver’s face. She twists her fingers nervously and she wonders if she’s now lost Oliver’s trust.

His lack of response has her backpedalling once again

“You have to understand, I couldn’t let you be an accessory to this.”

“Felicity, you _tricked_ me so that I would go to Lance and reported you missing. I would have gone along with the plan if you had just told me that you were going to go after Cooper on your own,” Oliver huffs out in frustration as he rubs his eyes tiredly.

After they had both collapsed into bed curling into each other as they slept. She woke in the wee hours of the morning with a surging pain across her jaw. She barely had time to sit up before Oliver had an icepack waiting for her. It was while she was nursing her injury and Oliver refused to go back to sleep, at her insistence, that they started discussing Cooper and the night’s events once again.

“Oliver, if Captain Lance suspected you for even a second, _I_ wouldn’t have been the only person that was going to jail. I refuse to do that to Katie or to you.” Felicity all but growls in frustration, “I needed you in the dark about this. I’m sorry you spent hours worrying about me, not knowing what happened. But, I don’t regret it. I was banking on a lot of my plan according to how Cooper would react, if he had not allowed me to activate the virus first, who knows what would have happened and if that GPS would have even worked.”

“Weren’t you even afraid that _I_ would have told the police your secret, desperate to find you?” Oliver asks. She can see that the anger has dissipated and now he’s more curious than anything.

“I trusted you.” She says it so simply so easily, because it’s true. Out of everything, Oliver keeping her secret was _never_ on her list of concerns. She knows he would do whatever it takes to protect her. “Neither of us know what the police would do if they ever found out, and neither of us are willing to take that chance. I knew you wouldn’t tell them. This secret of mine is going to go down with the two of us…. _and Barry_. No one can know.”

“And Sara.” Oliver confesses looking at her apologetically, but Felicity doesn’t even bat an eyelash at his confession.

“I figured you would have to tell her when you were shipping them off to Miami,” Felicity concedes, she always knew Sara would need to know. “Nyssa?”

“No, I texted Sara about Abott. She understands why this has to remain among just us.” Oliver explains. He then stretches out his arm beckoning her to come towards him.

She crawls to the head of her bed, curling herself into his lap, the cold ice pack now limb in her hand. Oliver takes it from her and places it on the towel at the bedside, then grabs the comforter cocooning them under the warmth.

He nuzzles his nose against her hair and sighs, his soft breath tickling her skin, “So, this is it then? Emily Walker…”

“Is dead, and will stay dead,” Felicity says with finality. She tightens her hold on his arms releasing her own deep-seated sigh, “my only regret is that my mother never knew the truth. She will spend the rest of her life thinking I died.”

“With Cooper gone, don’t you think you could contact her? Maybe even visit her?” Oliver offers.

Felicity shrugs her shoulders in defeat, “I can’t take that chance, not until I know for sure Cooper is permanently behind bars. At least now I know she’s safe.”

“Okay.”

Oliver agrees, a bit too easier for her but then his hands move to her shoulders and when his thumbs dig into the muscles she tells herself she will worry about it another time, and gets lost in the soothing feeling of his touch.

* * *

 

“Oliver! Do you have the pies?”

“Yes. Like I told you the last _three_ times you ask, they are currently in cooling on the kitchen counter waiting for desert. You need to calm down,” Oliver says calmly, way too calmly for her taste.

“I can’t mess this up. This is the first time all our families are going to all under one roof and it’s freaking me out.” Felicity says in a rush, checking to make sure there is enough ice in the cooler for their guest, for the 12th time.

Oliver grabs her hand, stopping her before she can open the cooler for the 13th time, “If you keep doing that, we’re going to be serving them _water_ with their drinks. C’mon relax, this is supposed to be _fun_ and bring our dysfunctional family together.”

Felicity sighs but allows him to pull her out of the kitchen and into the their backyard. It’s been a few weeks since the incident and Oliver has since moved into Felicity’s house and they are hosting their first brunch with all of their family, included Oliver’s extended family of Katie’s mothers.

“Hey, the only one with dysfunctional family is your entanglement with Katie’s mothers,” Felicity teases. She rises on her tiptoes to kiss him soundly on the lips, “Thanks for trying, but I should be asking _you_ how you are feeling, about your decision?”

Oliver takes a seat on the nearby bench and tugs Felicity onto his lap. His fingers drum against the small patch of skin that is revealed under the hem of her skirt. Felicity rubs his shoulders soothingly, “You know, you don’t have to tell them now.”

“No, I need to. They should find out from me, and not some media outlet. I don’t regret my decision. Tommy and John have both agreed, I just…I wish I didn’t _have_ to you know?”

“I know.” Felicity says softly. She cards her fingers through his hair, hoping to offer him some kind of comfort.

Since his game against the Central City Canaries, Oliver has been having more and more trouble with his shoulder. So much so his range in motion has significantly decrease and both he and John have agreed that he just won’t be able to be back in shape in time for the football season in the fall. He’s been grappling with this decision to leave the team for _weeks_ now and Felicity hates the fact that all of _her_ issues have encompassed it and Oliver only got to told her after her pseudo-kidnapping.

“It’s not the end of football for you.” Felicity reminds him, kissing his temple, “It’s just a new beginning. I didn’t get the part of Velma, and you can no longer play professional football.”

Oliver huffs softly at her words; they have both been faced with disappointments in the past few weeks. He leans back against the table, elbows resting on the edge, and smiles at her, the smile not quite reaching his eyes, “Is this the part where you tell me ‘at least we have each other?’”

Felicity slaps him on the chest lightly, “ _yes_ , and you know its true.”

Oliver sighs, but nods in agreement anyway. They are both harboring some bitterness towards what has become of their careers. “You know it’s ironic…”

“What is?” Felicity asks tilting her head sideways to look at him curiously.

“We only met because we both wanted to further our careers, and yet six months later here we are with no jobs and now living together.”

“Wow, our mangers suck at Public Relations.” Felicity quips, “we should fire them.”

“Probably.” Oliver says with a laugh, his arms moving around her, “who knows if we can even afford them now.”

“Oh god, that’s true.” Felicity bemoans her head dropping on his shoulder.

“Felicity, you were supposed to be cheering _me_ up.” Oliver reminds her with a laugh and a kiss against her cheek.

“I know, but it just hit me, I don’t have _any_ other shows lined up. I’ve never been out of a job in the last 5 years. Even between productions, I always had something to fall back on.”

“You’re not doing this alone anymore.” Oliver reminds her, “I’m here. We both know I don’t _have_ to work for at least for a long time coming. I can provide for the both of us.”

Felicity bites her lip, grinning at him cheekily. “Are you going to be my Sugar Daddy?”

“If you let me.” Oliver says seriously.

So seriously in fact that Felicity’s smile falters, her eyes narrowing at him in suspicion, “Oliver, are you asking me what I _think_ you’re asking?”

When Oliver does not answer right away, Felicity scampers off his lap and looks at him with wide eyes, her heart beating like a marching band in her chest and the grand finale is rapidly approaching. Her breath hitches as Oliver sticks his fingers in his front pocket, her heart ceasing when he pulls a shiny ring from his pocket.

“Oliver…”

“I’ve had this for the past few weeks.” He says rising to his feet, the small ring held carefully between his forefinger and thumb. “I planned on holding to it for a while. Let the dust settle with Cooper and our jobs. Let _us_ settle into a routine that doesn’t involve this secret hanging over our heads. But, every time I look at you, I can’t imagine my life without you. _This._ This life we’ve built, this life that seemed to fall into our laps in the best possible way, I can’t lose it. I don’t want to. You’ve had my heart racing since the moment I’ve met you, Felicity Smoak will you marry me?”

“Oliver.” Felicity chokes out, tears are running down her cheeks as Oliver gets on one knee and holds up the ring to her. His eyes are wide and hopeful but his shaking fingers show that he is a nervous wreck.

She offers her left hand out to him, and she nods her head vigorously muttering out a series of yes as Oliver slips the ring onto her finger. She’s about to yank him to his feet and kiss him senseless when the patio door slams open catching both their attentions.

“Ollie?” Thea calls out cautiously, her eyes wide in surprise. Roy is at her side casserole dish in his hand with similar expression.

“Daddy, whatcha doin’?” Katie’s head pops up from behind Roy and she looks at the peer with wide curious eyes.

She ignores her aunt’s calls as she runs to her father, little fingers tugging at Felicity’s hand that is still clasps in Oliver’s, “what’s that?”

Oliver scoops Katie up with one hand and when he gets to his feet, he tugs Felicity to his side, “Felicity and I are getting married.”

Katie eyes bug out in surprise, “ _everyone’s_ getting marrieds!”

All the adults break out into laughter as the little girl’s words seem to have break the tension, with three short words. Oliver looks down at Felicity eyes twinkling just before he swoops down to kiss her fully on the lips, Katie soft protests of disgust, going on deaf ears. When they finally pull back Katie has he head resting on Oliver’s shoulder and looks down at Felicity with curious eyes, and Felicity braces herself for the question that she knows is on the tip of the little girl’s tongue.

“Felicity, are you going to be my ‘notherMommy?”

“No. I’ll _just_ be Felicity.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This short epilogue was important to me, important for Felicity and I hope you all enjoy it.

**Six Months Later**

“I know. I know. I’m late!”

Felicity rushes through the front door, slightly out of breath. She tosses her coat onto the coat rank, the wooden ornament tittering at on the edge at the force.

“Sara called me, apparently Katie was having a crisis. She refuses to wear the white dress Nyssa’s mother picked out. She wants to wear a _tux_ , like the one she chose for our wedding.” Felicity calls out, panting slightly.

She plops onto the small stool and begins to work on the lacings of her boots, cursing her weakness towards boots. She hears shuffling in the living room and groans softly, she is _so_ late. She and Oliver made plans to meet with their wedding planner almost an hour ago. The mild winter storm that’s currently blowing into Starling City did little to help her pace.

“Felicity…”

“I told you we should have never told her about being your best man…well _girl_ for the wedding until _after_ she chose her dress for Sara and Nyssa’s wedding. I know Nyssa’s mother doesn’t really approve of Sara, but really forcing the five year old, practically her _granddaughter_ to wear a _white_ dress is ridiculous. Jamie is wearing a purple dress, those two are two peas in a pod, of _course_ they are going to want to wear the same dress. I mean let the kid be, that should be the _least_ of their concerns. If it were my mother she would have let Katie wear a pink tutu if Katie wanted. She always said that ‘ kids need to fuel their imaginations…”

“…while young, and learn how to express themselves, before they are adults and no longer have the freedom to do so.”

Felicity stomach plummets, her body freezing at the sound of a familiar voice, a voice she has not heard over 7 years. Her boot clattering to the wooden floor “Oliver, is _my_ imagination playing tricks with me?”

“ _Emmy_.”

Felicity slowly raises her head, her heart hammering against her ribcage, she can practically hear the blood rushing through her ears and when she sees the familiar, short blonde standing in front of her she released a deep sob. She looks to her right to see Oliver standing off in the corner watching her closely, his small nod in confirmation, that she is in fact not imagining things has her releasing a soft sob.

“Mum!”

Felicity clampers to her feet, one boot still on her foot as she takes the two short strides to her mother. Donna moves just as swiftly and gather’s Felicity in her arms in almost an instant, both women sobbing openly and clinging to each other for all their worth.

“My baby girl. My brave baby girl.” Donna sobs into Felicity’s shoulders, her arms tightening around Felicity and Felicity returns the gesture in kind.

Minutes, maybe even hours have passed as they stand the middle of the foyer clinging to each other. Felicity is the first to pull back, her eyes red and filled with tears, her mother, looks worse for wear, with matching red eyes. She has new age lines since Felicity has seen her, her normal platinum blond hair, is a duller colour, Felicity suspects its more in line with her natural blonde look. She is looking at Felicity with such awe and wonderment and Felicity’s heart breaks all over again.

“My Emmy,” Donna whispers softly, her well-manicured fingers tracing the edges of Felicity’s face, looping around a blond strand, “When Mr. Queen… _Oliver_ came to see me last month and told me this story. I couldn’t…I thought it was some sick joke…I tossed the wanker out on his arse more than once.”

Felicity sobs out a soft laugh at her words, her mother has always been a force to be recon with, “But he was so insistent, told me just to hear him out and I just…part of me wanted it to be _true,_ I just I had to listen. These Americans are very _pushy_.”

Felicity giggles at her tone taking a step forward engulfing her mother in a hug once again. She presses her nose against her mother’s sweater and just takes a deep long breath. The familiar scent of rose perfume and cinnamon just warming Felicity from the inside out.

She smelt like home.

She pulls back, her eyes pooling with tears yet again, she just can’t believe her mother is actually standing in front of her. Donna smiles warmly at her and wipes away the teardrops at her cheek, “I still can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me. Emmy…Emmy, you look happy are you happy?”

Felicity nods her head, “I am. Mum, I’m so sorry, if I could…”

Donna shakes her head, thumb swiping away Felicity’s tears again, “That’s all I ever wanted, baby girl. When they told me about your accident, I blamed myself. I let you go without a fight if I could have done things differently…”

“Mom, it’s not your fault. I was stubborn and pigheaded and need to learn things the hard way.”

“Mom…uh?” Donna teases emphasizing the ‘o’, “You certainly have acclimatized yourself.”

Felicity sobers at her mother’s words, “Oliver told you what happened? Why I’m here? I didn’t just change my looks...”

“Slow down, honey.” Donna says soothingly, her arms rubbing Felicity’s shoulders, “Why don’t you finish taking off your boot and then we’ll take talk in the lounge. It’s comforting to know after all these years, all these changes, your scatterbrain never changed.”

Felicity huffs out a laugh at her mother’s words and quickly moves to remove her boots while Donna heads to the living room, her mind still trying to process the last few minutes. She thinks its still hasn’t registered to her that she just spoke to her mother.

She head into the living room and smiles when she find her mother on the love seat curled up against the arm chair a cup of tea in her hand. She looks quite at home, which warms Felicity’s heart more than a fireplace ever could.

“Your American accent aside, you taught that bloke well.” Donna nods in approval, holding up a cup of tea for Felicity, “Brewed to perfection and I didn’t even have to ask him how to do it. He’s a keeper.”

Felicity laughs at her words, cradling the warm teacup against her chest, “Trust me, it took some time.”

She takes a sip of her tea and looks at her mother with awe, Donna smiling warmly at her in return, “Mom….I just…I don’t understand, what are you even doing here? _How?”_

“Like I said, Oliver came to me. Told me your story and you….you are the bravest person I know.” Donna voice breaks yet again. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl.”

“Mom.”

Felicity takes the teacup from her mother placing both on the table before she curls against her mother, her head resting on her chest, just like she use to do when she was a kid. Donna running her fingers through Felicity’s hair.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how alone you must have felt, and scared.” Donna whispers softly, “To do what you did…I can’t even imagine…how did you…to start over… _how_?”

“It wasn’t easy.” Felicity says truthfully, “I spent 5 years looking over my shoulder, never trusting anyone but Barry. Barry was my lifeline for so many years before I met Oliver.”

“I’m just glad you had people with you, people that love you and looked out for you.”

Donna’s fingers play with a lock of Felicity’s hair, as Felicity melts against her, seeking the warmth of her mother, something she hasn’t had in far too long.

“You straightened it.” Donna says softly, her voice catching ever so slightly, her nails softly scrapping against Felicity’s scalp, “Usually, when I did this, your curls would get tangled in my nails.”

“We always fought about that.”

Felicity sniffs remembering the fights with her curly brown hair that had a knack for tangling faster than Felicity could blink. Using chemicals to permanently straighten it had hurt more than she had ever thought it would at the time.

“You should leave it, let it the relaxant wear off, have your natural curls for your wedding.”  Donna says thoughtfully the hairdresser in her can’t help but point out and Felicity only smiles in response. “I do like this colour you chose though.”

“You always told me, I’d look good as a blonde.” Felicity recalls, “I was a redhead for awhile, but then when I got Mary Poppins it allowed me to still be me under disguise, with the brown wig and hat. Then when I got Frozen, they offered to let me wear a wig and I decided to take the plunge and go blonde. You were right, blondes _do_ have more fun.”

“Well with a fit bloke like that, I don’t think being blonde had anything to do with it.” Donna says suggestively.

“ _Mom!”_ Felicity blanches scandalizes at which they both break out into fits of giggles.

“I still can’t believe this is real.” Donna whispers softly, her voice breaking, “For so many years, I wished it was all a nightmare.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Nonsense, you did what you had to do, and we can make up for it now.” Donna promises, kissing the crown of Felicity’s head affectionately.

“I don’t know if you can stay,” Felicity says with fear, “My secret, doesn’t just affect me anymore.”

“I know,” Donna voice breaks at the admission, “Oliver, explained it to me when he came by last month.”

“He told me was going to Canada for two weeks, not _England_.” Felicity says with a huff, but she’s hardly upset. “He was acting dodgy every time I called, but I suspected it was to do with the wedding, and I guess _technically_ it was.”

“I’ll just be Donna Smoak to all you friends.” Donna says dismissively, “When I come back for the wedding and you know future grandbabies I’ll have to visit.”

“ _Mom_.” Felicity all but whines, not that her mother is far off, after all there is a special little girl already in Felicity’s life. “You’ll have to meet Katie.”

“I will.” Donna nods in confirmation, “ _Felicity.”_

Both women still at her word and Felicity looks at her thoughtfully, “you’ll get use to it. I have.”

“Felicity, it means hope you know.”

“It does.”

“Honey, I really don’t care what you’re called, as long as you’re here for me to call you.” Donna promises, easing Felicity’s concern. She sits up and grabs their abandon teacups holding out one for her daughter, “Now, tell me all about your life in New York.”

“You don’t want to know about Ireland?” Felicity asks nervously, remembering all too well how they left things 7 years ago.

Donna shakes her head, “No, I think we’ve done enough crying for one day. Tell me about your new life, and all these amazing people you’ve met.”

“Well it all started when I was an au pair for an unruly toddler, that only fell asleep to Madonna’s Material Girl and I had to give an impromptu performance in Central Park….”


End file.
